Hon. Lucie Moncion: Colleagues, Mariette Carrier-Fraser passed away on September 15. She was born on October 19, 1943, in Jogues, a small village near the town of Hearst in northern Ontario.

The third of nine children, she came from humble beginnings. Mariette started Grade 1 at the age of four, which was extraordinary and unusual for the time. At the age of 17, she began her teaching career in Hearst and spent the next 36 years in the teaching profession. She rose through the ranks to become assistant deputy minister of French-language education at the Department of Education, a position she held from 1983 to 1997.

She was very active in her community. She became the founding principal of St. Noël Chabanel school at the age of 26 and later of Notre-Dame school in Hamilton at the age of 32. She was then recruited by the Department of Education to manage French-language education advisory services in Ontario, before being appointed regional superintendent and then assistant deputy minister of education. As Bette Stephenson, the Minister of Education at the time, put it:

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“It’s safer to have you on the inside than on the outside.”

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Mrs. Carrier-Fraser was the driving force behind establishing French-language sections in every school board, securing equitable funding for Catholic secondary education, establishing Collège Boréal and Collège des Grands Lacs and creating Ontario’s 12 French-language school boards.

Throughout the years, Mariette championed francophones’ right to education in French. She fought for francophones to have their own institutions, an expanded curriculum and access to quality programs.

Her achievements were remarkable, but, as she said, a lot remained to be done.

After retiring, Mariette got involved with many organizations. She chaired the French Language Health Services Advisory Council and served on the boards of Laurentian University, the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board, La Cité, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, the Montfort Hospital, the Centre d’appui et de prévention and the Réseau des services de santé en français de l’Est de l’Ontario. She was the first president of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario.

She received numerous prestigious awards, including the Order of Canada, the Ordre de la Pléiade and an Ontario Francophonie Award.

This incredible woman made a lasting impact on all who knew her. She was a strong, competent woman with a brilliant mind and a unique way of approaching people. She was a unifying force, a go-getter, an agent of change, a model of commitment and determination who advanced the cause of francophone minority communities and French-language education in Ontario. Mariette Carrier-Fraser was incredibly compassionate and had great respect for others. She took her rightful place in Ontario’s francophone community with pride, honesty and wisdom.

I offer my deepest condolences to her daughters, Lori and Brenda, to her brothers and sisters and her entire extended family.

Rest in peace, my friend, and know that your star will continue to shine for all those who knew and loved you.

Thank you.