The Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF) has awarded the 2019 Ghislaine-Pilon National Award to Martine Galibois-Barss, a pioneer in Francophone education in British Columbia.

This prestigious award was created to recognize the outstanding contribution of an individual or organization to the advancement of a Francophone parents’ movement at the regional, provincial, territorial, or national level.

As President of the Fédération des parents francophones de C.-B. from 1986 to 1996, and then as a trustee with the Conseil scolaire francophone de la C.-B. (CSF) from 1996 to 2005, Ms. Galibois-Barss worked for many years to establish a Francophone school system in our province.

A very capable, determined, active person with heart, mother of four and proud grandmother, she has always been interested in education, but especially interested in the children themselves. The ultimate goal of her commitment and her accomplishments has always been the well-being of children — of all children. She has two personal virtues that many children also possess: spontaneity and a warm heart.

Her initial involvement was with the development of the French Immersion program in North Vancouver. Ms. Galibois-Barss then worked toward the founding of l’école André-Piolat, followed by setting up a Francophone secondary school program, also in North Vancouver. At first she was a volunteer, then became a board member, and then president of l’Association des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique, which would later become the Fédération des parents.

She was also the driving force behind two legal actions brought in the 1990s against the provincial government to recognize the rights conferred to Francophone minority parents by Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These efforts led to the creation of the CSF in 1995.

It’s thanks to the continued efforts of Ms. Galibois-Barss, and the many parents she has motivated, that Francophone education in B.C. is managed by a provincial Francophone school board. These efforts have helped provide access to a network of schools offering quality programs that contribute to the development of the Francophone community that they serve.

Her community involvement and dedication to the French-language education movement in British Columbia and across Canada have earned her numerous awards, including l’Ordre des francophones d’Amérique.

Following a video presentation by the President of the CNPF, Louis Kdouh, Ms. Galibois-Barss accepted the trophy presented to her with humility, during the opening evening of the conference celebrating the 40th anniversary of the organization representing Francophone parents in British Columbia.

Those parents join the CNPF in saluting Martine Galibois-Barss’s immense contribution to the development of the Francophone community in British Columbia.

* You can view,   by clicking here, a video (in French only)    presenting the 2019 Prix national Ghislaine-Pilon awarded to Martine Galibois-Barss (including a brief address by Ms. Galibois-Barss and archive footage from Radio-Canada).

(The second photo shows Martine Galibois-Barss accompanied by Suzana Straus, President, and Marie-Andrée Asselin, Executive Director of the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique. Photo credits:  Gaëtan Nerincx)