Mr. Speaker, last Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the passing of a pioneer of Quebec song, Mary Travers, who is better known as “La Bolduc”.
Ms. Travers was born in 1894 in the Gaspé in Newport, the same village where the Minister of National Revenue and the member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine were born. La Bolduc is considered to be Quebec's first female singer-songwriter.
Her eloquent and comical songs, which were intertwined with “turlutes”, Acadian mouth music, were like a breath of fresh air for workers in the Great Depression. Just recently the Quebec government officially designated this remarkable songstress as a historical figure. She is the second woman, after Jeanne Mance, to be awarded this honour posthumously.
La Bolduc, who was ahead of her time thanks to her financial independence and determination, paved the way for the emancipation of women.