COLUMNS
Signed pieces, not firm positions.
One voice, one perspective, one experience. We do not rewrite these texts to make them look like analyses: what is personal in them is part of what they teach.
These columns appear in Informe Affaires, where they were first published under a section devoted to equity, diversity and inclusion. That section is the context in which they appeared, not the category under which Mosaïca files them today.
19 columns since February 2025 · Martin Lépine (12) and Mahdi Gueblaoui (7)
20267 columns
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July, a user's guide
Around here we don't get a lot of seasons: there's winter, and there's the day they repave the asphalt. And that day, you'd better catch it.
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A child from Abidjan. A Canadian jersey. A Quebec story
In a few days, Quebecers will cheer goals from Senegal, Morocco, Haiti or Algeria with as much enthusiasm as Canada's. For the first time in its history, the FIFA World Cup is being played partly on Canadian soil. For a few weeks, millions of people will follow teams they normally never watch.
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The Quebec we are looking for fits inside a school gym
There were flags. Anthems. Eyes shining. And an audience applauding as those who carried their origins like a treasure walked past.
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Diverse teams, managers left on their own
A few weeks ago, a manager called me with these words: “The light has gone out of his eyes. I'm losing him, and I have no answer.”
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Secularism and religious symbols: what I learned by listening to you
When you arrive in Quebec, you bring a story with you. Habits, a language learned in a hurry, reference points lost along the way, and sometimes, on your head or around your neck, a symbol that says something about who you are.
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The Carnival of blue hearts
The Carnival was glowing in Limoilou. Children laughing, brilliant colours, a joy that defied winter. A beautiful, warm Quebec, capable of coming together. Inclusive Quebec was dancing in the street. But that same Saturday, another carnival was taking shape. A carnival with no music, no confetti. A carnival of blue hearts.
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An immigrant's first reference point
In his last column, Martin passed me the puck. And with it, a heavy responsibility: to talk about diversity from where I stand, as an immigrant.
202512 columns
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I'm passing the puck!
I'm writing my last column today, since I'm handing my place to my colleague and friend Mahdi Gueblaoui. A good man — a newcomer, he has married two cultures: that of his country of origin, Tunisia, and that of Quebec, his adopted home. Mahdi can rightly claim to be a full member of Quebec society — a “bicultural” citizen, if I may put it that way. People like him are open, cultivated, they move things forward, they are not afraid of change and they know how to draw on the best of both worlds. True “Super Quebecers”, as far as I'm concerned.
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Job stealer!
“Another job stealer!” Who has never heard that kind of remark? You generally hear it in homogeneous work teams with similar sociocultural profiles, whose members are convinced that colleagues from visible minorities are being “imposed” on them.
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Let everyone play their part and we'll get there
Is there a more polarizing subject right now than the welcome and integration of newcomers? This year the government put a moratorium on new immigrant admissions and held public consultations on multi-year immigration planning.
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Please refrain… in public
In Montreal, street prayers did not let up all summer, with some Muslims praying even in front of Notre-Dame Basilica, a Christian church. For many people, that is a provocation. Here in Saguenay, we are not seeing that yet.
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Ageism… at 30!
Past fifty, firmly settled into ways of working that have, all in all, served me well in the past, I find myself facing a “digital reality” that is upending almost my entire working environment. Which raises a question: “Am I about to become a victim of my age?”
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Driving in Quebec, not easy when you come from far away…
Dakar, Senegal, January 2025 — I am taking part in a recruitment mission, guided by colleagues and friends of Senegalese origin who will be doing the driving. Every morning, we leave our hotel and make our way through the vibrant streets of Dakar to a technical school where we will carry out our mandate.
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Maryse is the best
Maryse is one of the people I admire most. She has been appointed general manager of her organization. That appointment is a goal she has been pursuing for several years. An engineer and a mother of three, she earned her MBA taking evening classes. The news delighted everyone… except a handful of characters who amuse themselves, away from the official channels, by attributing the choice to the affirmative action policy in place for the past few years.
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Ramadan, strange? Not really…
My travels have helped me know myself better and understand that opening up to others is the secret to easing your fears about cultural differences. Ramadan — a period of fasting, prayer and Muslim spirituality — illustrates the point well.
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Diversity is taking the blame these days…
Speaking publicly on a subject as delicate as equity, diversity and inclusion is a privilege, but one that comes with a duty of circumspection, especially in this period of deep polarization.
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Quebecers have a keen nose!
I have good reason to remember my first transatlantic flight. Destination Lyon, a first father-and-son ski trip in the French Alps!
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What if Hurricane Trump reached Quebec?
Donald Trump, the man who turns every speech into a television show and every decision into a controversy, is still making noise at 78. Since his first campaign, he has never stopped making waves, making it hard to tell whether his decisions are driven by deep conviction or by an egocentric appetite for popularity. But what happens if this grand impresario of America decides to give the rest of the world lessons in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)? Let us brace ourselves, because Hurricane Trump could well reach Quebec and sway a few minds sooner rather than later.
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Are we losing ourselves?
My daughters' generation — they are 19 and 24 — belongs to the “You can't say that, Dad” cohort, often associated with the woke movement. That movement, which came from the United States, advocates a moral correctness that appeals particularly to young people. Thanks to them, I have learned to think before speaking about diversity, and I feel less rigid.