PRINCE ALBERT — Ecole St. Mary High School teacher Rémi Joncas has been recognized for his contributions to French immersion in the province of Saskatchewan.
Canadian Parents for French (CPF-Saskatchewan) recently named Joncas as one of their French-Second-Language Champion of the Year Award winners for 2024-25. The award recognizes the work of staff members at the school or school division level.
Joncas said he was nominated for the work he does behind the scenes.
"We do a lot for French immersion,” he said. “In my class and outside, I've done lots of volunteering for CPF and it doesn't seem like I do a lot like in front of the scene, but I do a lot behind the scenes for their organization, getting a lot of their web page and publicity and E-mail and preparing all the documents and all this stuff. It's a lot of work.”
The CPF said recipients are positive advocates for and contributors to the French-Second-Language learning environment. They also inspired students of all abilities and backgrounds to learn French.
Joncas said he doesn’t do the work to win awards, but being recognized is still special.
"It's always really heart-warming to know that people appreciate what you do,” Joncas said.
The organization says that Joncas is an outstanding French immersion teacher at École St. Mary High School in Prince Albert. His nominators mentioned his advocacy for all high school students regardless of where they attend school, whether it is where he teaches, at Carlton Comprehension Public High School or École Valois.
As well as his approachability and positive attitude, he is a great mentor and role model for all students, the nominators said. He coordinated French events for French immersion students, particularly for younger students.
Joncas continually promotes French in all areas of his life as he proudly shares his Acadian heritage. His passion for French reaches back to his time at university, as he is a former assistant teacher and translator at Unversité de Moncton and worked as a museum guide at Dalhousie University.
Sonia Mollison and Jara MacFarlane nominated Joncas for the award.
“We work as a really great team, Jara MacFarlane and Sonia, they are the nominators and they were just awesome,” Joncas said. “They believe in the cause, and it (French immersion) is just something that we want. We want the French kids to have more French opportunities and we're trying really hard.”
Joncas said supporting French immersion is important because French is an official language in Canada and there is a vast French heritage in Saskatchewan.
"When the Metis people came here. That was one of the languages they spoke,” he said. “Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont they spoke French and Michif as well. (In) Bellevue and a lot of communities in Saskatchewan it's tied to the history of our country.
“French is a world language,” he added. “You'll find French on all five continents of the world.”
Joncas himself comes from another French-speaking subgroup in Canada, as he is of Acadian descent.
He encourages parents and students to continue on the path of French immersion,
"I would tell students and parents, ‘I know sometimes French it is hard. You don't hear a lot of French in Prince Albert, but keep going, it's worth it totally, this will open the world to you and it creates your identity.’ I've seen so many people saying that that even after they have this tie to the French language or even French media, French songs, French movies, it's a whole different world of opportunities and it's so good. Keep going, it's working.”
Canadian Parents for French is a nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that furthers bilingualism by promoting opportunities to learn and use French for all those who call Canada home.
The other winners in Saskatchewan were Danielle Brûlé-Lundgren of École Lakeview School in Saskatoon and Bonnie Pendleton of École St. Michael’s School in Yorkton.
