En Gaspésie avec Joanie

Indigenous Communities, Bilingualism, and Access to Healthcare in Gaspésie, with Emily Roberts

Transcription (in English)

Joanie
Hi, I’m Joanie, and I often say that I’m obsessed with Gaspésie. Maybe you’ve seen my past TikTok videos where I talk about my life in the region. With this podcast, I want to take my reflections even further and show that Gaspésie isn’t always what people think. Because let’s be honest, there are still some prejudices about the region. But Gaspésie is mostly unique because of the people who live here. So, if you’re interested, join me and my guests—we’ll give you a tour. I promise we won’t go too fast. There are too many beautiful things to see and wonderful people to meet when you take your time. Welcome to Gaspésie with Joanie. Today, I have a guest that I’m really excited to talk to. She was an individual academic advisor for the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles for several years, and now she teaches social sciences for the Eastern Shore School Board, the Anglophone school board that serves Eastern Quebec. She’s also involved with the Mi’gmaq Nation of Gespeg as an elected councillor, on top of being the mother of two little girls. We crossed paths often in another life because we went to Cégep in Gaspé at the same time. Emily Roberts is here today. Emily, hello.

Emily
Hi Joanie, Bonjour. Gwe,
The three languages of Gaspésie. Thank you for inviting me.

Joanie
Listen, I’m the one thanking you. I’m really happy to take the time to chat with you. I think we’re going to have plenty of topics for discussion today, that’s for sure.

Emily
I’m sure, we haven’t spoken like this in a long time, so we have a lot to catch up on.

Joanie
Yes, we definitely have a lot of catching up to do. To start, I want to ask you, who are you, exactly?

Emily
Well, I’m the daughter of Tom Roberts from Rosebridge, in Gaspé. Everyone in Gaspé knows my dad, especially in the Anglophone community. I love Gaspé. You said you’re obsessed with Gaspésie, but so am I, really. I’m very happy to be here today. I have two little girls. I’m a maman, mom, mommy —it depends on the day. I’m also a teacher at Gaspé Polyvalent School, and of course, an elected councillor for the Mi’gmaq Nation of Gespeg.

Joanie
Emily, I’d like you to tell us a bit about your journey. I mentioned in the introduction that we crossed paths at Cégep in Gaspé, back in the day. We’re the same age, we attended Cégep around the same time. After Cégep, you went to university outside the region—if I remember correctly, you went to Bishops. What did you go there to do, and did you always want to come back to Gaspésie?

Emily
Yes, actually, I wanted to do my Cégep in Gaspé because I really wasn’t ready to go anywhere else, especially not to Montreal. As Anglophones, we don’t have many choices for Cégeps in English. So, I was really happy that in Gaspé, we had our small Anglophone section with everyone from high school and people from New Carlisle, New Richmond, who we played sports tournaments with. It was really fun that I did my two years of Cégep here and met new Francophone friends, too. That was really cool. Having coffee at Oscar’s and hanging out at the residence. But then… I always wanted to teach. I love it. I love talking. Obsessed with history, obsessed with Gaspésie. And it was never a question of not returning to Gaspé. As an Anglophone, we didn’t have many options. My French was terrible—horrible. I started working at a department store when I was 17. My dad filled my first car with gas and said, « That’s it. You need to find a part-time job and start speaking French. No more freebies for you. » So, I went to the store and got a job. When I started working in the men’s clothing section, I didn’t even know the French word for “hanger.” So, yes, it was embarrassing, but I learned a lot of vocabulary. I wasn’t ready to go to Montreal. I liked visiting Montreal, but I knew I couldn’t live there. So, I wanted to stay in Quebec, and I chose Bishops. Plus, all my friends from Cégep were going to Bishops too. We stayed together for four more years. I was accepted into the secondary education program to teach high school. I chose History and Geography as my subjects and spent four years in Lennoxville, a small borough of Sherbrooke. Very Anglophone, very small. It’s a lot like Gaspésie. We saw a lot of Gaspésiens there too. So, I spent four years there, but at the end of those four years, I was definitely ready to come back to Gaspé.

Joanie
Did a lot of your friends who studied at Bishops also come back?

Emily
Yes, quite a few. Some pursued their master’s degrees elsewhere, tried out other cities like Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal. But within five years, in the first five years of our adult lives, most of us came back to Gaspé. We were very happy. And we’re happy to be here together in our adult lives, for sure. Yes, actually, for us, it was a big decision because, you see, my co-parent and I were together for 15 years. After I finished my studies in 2013, there weren’t many jobs in Gaspésie, especially in education. It was during austerity measures and all that. So, I knew there wasn’t a permanent position waiting for me. At first, it was just substitute teaching. But my ex-husband and I made the decision that we definitely wanted to settle in Gaspé. He got a job working in the mines, at the Raglan mine. He did rotations, we called them “runs.” And I had the chance to start working at the only Anglophone high school in Gaspé. He did his “runs” to help us settle down and start our family.

Joanie
What you’re saying is interesting because, indeed, being part of the Anglophone community doesn’t make it easy to find job opportunities. I’m not saying there aren’t any, but, for example, for someone like you who wanted to teach high school, well, there’s Gaspé, but there aren’t many other places, and you can’t just commute to different schools all over the territory.

Emily
No, exactly, our school board covers from Fermont to Port-Cartier, almost to Campbellton, all the way to Métis—it’s huge. But luckily, we have an Anglophone high school in Gaspé, so I knew I had to get in there to work in the field I studied for.

Joanie
What was it like for you growing up in Gaspésie? Did you always love the region? Can you remember a moment when you really realized that you were living in such an incredible place as Gaspésie?

Emily
I loved it. I think it’s something you realize more after you leave Gaspésie and come back. You understand, “Okay, this is why I am the way I am.” Like, for me, I was always, especially in the Anglophone community, with the same people from kindergarten to fifth grade. Even now, I can still name everyone’s birthdays from my classes. I really loved it. Everything was familiar. I already knew my teachers in advance and all that. I loved that I could go to the beach whenever I wanted. I had a beach right in front of my house. Then, I could go four-wheeling in the backwoods. I loved it. But I was still eager to leave Gaspé and see something new, even though it made me nervous. But I still had my same group of friends with me, which was comforting. After returning to Gaspé, I was really glad I had spent those four years away, in an intermediate place, if you will. I didn’t go to Montreal; I went to Lennoxville, which was still pretty chill and laid-back. But I got out, met a lot of new people—people from Toronto, who often laughed at us Gaspésians. My Gaspesian friends and I were always together, but we made other friends too, and they sometimes made fun of how we talked. One night we were watching a hockey game, Toronto vs. Montreal, and my friends and I were chatting in English. We asked someone, “Which team are you taking for?” Everyone stopped talking and looked at us, confused, like, “What’s that? Which team are you taking for?” You know, we often translate French terms directly into English, and native Anglophones don’t always get it. But I was really happy to have lived my whole life in Gaspésie. Happy to have gone out for a bit, but I’ll never regret my decision to come back home. It really is home. I’m so glad my daughters get to experience the same thing I

Joanie
So, what do you love about life in Gaspésie? Are you an outdoorsy person? Are you someone who enjoys peace and quiet? What do you appreciate about being here?

Emily
I feel like—and I talk about this often with my daughters—you know, in the morning, we have a 26-kilometer drive to get to school. And you know, we drive past beaches, mountains, it’s so beautiful. Every day, it’s like our backdrop, like a postcard all the time. I remember when I used to live elsewhere, not seeing water every day made me sick. It was really weird. I love that. I love that we can go to the beach whenever we want. We have beaches everywhere, but at the same time, we have hunting camps, cottages in the woods. We can go whenever we want too. I love that we have everything here. And I really enjoy the outdoors. My dad used to take me with him to his hunting camps all summer to set up with apples and salt blocks my whole life. It’s something I enjoy doing with my kids. We’re always outside, we have bikes, we go to the beach. Then we take our little four-wheelers. Our land is huge, it stretches all the way to the Forillon Park. I love it, and I love that we get to share that with them.

Joanie
Wow! It really resonate because, for us, it was the same thing. We were living outside the region, and when we had kids that we said to ourselves, we want to give them what we had. We couldn’t imagine raising them anywhere else. It doesn’t mean that other places aren’t good, but we were so grateful and appreciated what we had that we thought, how could we not give them the same thing? And once we realized that, it was obvious that we had to raise our kids in Gaspésie. I feel like it’s… a gift we’re giving them when we can do it.

Emily
Yes, absolutely. And us too, you know, I live in the Rosebridge area of Gaspé. And you know, my neighbors are my parents. My aunt lives across the street. My grandmother is diagonal to me. You know, I love… I spent my childhood with my cousins, my aunts, every Sunday. There were 25 of us having lunch at my grandmother’s every Sunday. So family is another reason I love being here. They’re always around. And now, they take care of my daughters. I find that so, so important. And my co-parent’s family is in town too—his sisters, brothers, we’re all here. So I love this system of support, but I also love that we’re still so close. That’s one of the big reasons why I wanted to stay in Gaspésie, because practically my entire family is still here. And I adore it.

Joanie
I totally understand. We moved back to Baie-des-Chaleurs, even though we really hesitated with Gaspé, because you know my partner, he’s from Gaspé, the Gaspé-Percé area. We really hesitated between the two, but the fact that my parents were retired played a big part in our decision to settle in Baie-des-Chaleurs. That support system, when you have kids… Especially since we have kids, and I’m often alone, because my partner works shifts in the north, so I’m often alone with the kids. That was really important, and we find that here too. My cousins, most of them have come back to Gaspésie. We’re always doing family activities, and I find it so beautiful to see my kids growing up with that. When people tell me that Gaspésie is far, for me, it’s close to everything that really matters.

Emily
Yes, exactly. It’s funny, I had a medical appointment in Rimouski recently. Rimouski is four hours away. The specialist I talked to said, « Listen, I think next time we could do your appointment over the phone. » Because, you know, driving four hours is quite long. I laughed for a few minutes and said, « Four hours? I love going to Rimouski! I can go to Walmart, I love it! » No, I want to come in person for my appointments, not over the phone. He was like, « Okay, but I find it far. » I said, « No, not at all. Four hours is nothing for us. »

Joanie
The way we relate to distance and the land is really different from other people, I think. Driving an hour… We find that pretty easy, whereas elsewhere, people think it’s long. But as you said, it’s not just any road we’re driving on. The scenery is contemplative. There’s something peaceful, even when you’re just driving around and seeing all that beauty around you. Emily, since the beginning, you’ve mentioned, and we can hear it, that you’re part of the English-speaking community in Gaspé. It’s a community that, in my view, is pretty close-knit but also very open to the world. That fascinated me when I arrived in Gaspé. I came from Baie-des-Chaleurs at a time when… Francophones and Anglophones were pretty much in their own circles. Unfortunately, I think there’s less of that today. We’re trying more and more to collaborate, but back then, it wasn’t like that. I attended the polyvalent in Bonaventure, where there was still an Anglophone and a Francophone side. That’s not the case anymore today. It wasn’t always an easy cohabitation, but when I got to Gaspé, I was struck by how integrated the Anglophone and Francophone communities were. I’d love to hear your thoughts—maybe it’s just my perspective—but how was it for you growing up in the Anglophone community in Gaspé, and how were the relations with everyone else around?

Emily
Well, yeah. My family—my parents are really Anglophone. It was their dream to speak French, and my dad was obsessed with me and my brother learning French. But they weren’t the ones who taught us. Often, for activities, my brother and I played softball our whole lives. I started in ’96. Throughout elementary school, all my French essays were about softball because that was the vocabulary I had. All the stories I had to write were just about softball. But in high school, things changed. We had the two polyvalents. There was an Anglophone side and a Francophone side. We shared the gym, the cafeteria, and the lockers were together. In grade 7, during my first week, Francophones and Anglophones were throwing eggs at each other. It was really a war. So I was kind of traumatized. But as time went on, I’d say especially through extracurricular activities like sports, we started building connections. You’d see each other in the cafeteria. You know, we ate poutine every day at the cafeteria. You’d eat your poutine, talk to the person you played softball with, and be like, « Okay. » Slowly, by grade 11, the relationship with the Francophone circle, at least for me, was much closer. There were far fewer fights and conflicts. And in Cégep, you were there too. We also had a lot of Anglophones. We were all together. You guys stayed in residence. We’d hang out at the residence before heading out to L’Ardoise or Campus. We started our nights at the residence. We’d also see each other at Cégep. In the Anglophone section, there weren’t many of us. Some Francophones also took courses in the Anglophone section. We were much more mixed. And before you know it, you start building friendships, and then you’re hanging out together. So for me, it was great, and I think my Cégep group… I’m still in touch with them. We often see each other when we drop our kids off at school in the morning, pick them up, and say hi. It’s the same people, so Cégep really changed that for me.

Joanie
That’s right. Yes. And just as you mentioned, you know, we become friends, we form connections between Francophones and Anglophones, sometimes we hang out together, and… That’s kind of your case, right? Your co-parent, as you mentioned, is Francophone. So, you’re raising your children bilingually. Yes. Could you explain? I imagine it wasn’t really a question; it just came naturally.

Emily
Yes, it’s funny because our eldest is 5, and our youngest is 3. They’re like 15 and 13 already, practically. But everyone talks about that. I’m Anglophone, my co-parent is Francophone, his parents are Francophone, and mine are Anglophone. But we often say we have one Anglophone and one Francophone. Our 5-year-old, she’s totally Anglophone, she speaks English. But our youngest is Francophone. Her preferred language is French. And you know, we say the same things, they grow up together, we speak the same way, but it’s very funny. Everyone notices right away. Even my co-parent and I, you know, people sometimes see us talking and they’re like, “Listen, nobody understands you guys.” Because I speak half in English, half in French. He speaks to me in French, sometimes in English. Then we turn to the kids and speak two different languages mixed together. Even my youngest is starting to count up to 10. She’s saying it all in a jumble like, « one, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nice, un, deux, trois. » And I say, “Honey, you don’t need to start over again.” And she’s like, “No.” But for her, it’s all one language. She doesn’t understand the split between the two languages. It’s really fun, and it’s funny to see her learning. I’m « Mommy, » but my co-parent is « Papa. » It’s really cute, it’s fun. Everyone says they’re lucky to already be truly bilingual at such a young age. They don’t even realize it.

Joanie
That’s so true, really. I find it interesting because it’s not something we’ve done. You know my in-laws. My in-laws are Anglophone, but bilingual. It was always easy to be more in French than in English. And since my partner wasn’t home much because of work, he preferred to speak French with the kids. But recently, we decided to have times when Dad speaks English to the kids, and I always speak French, just in case. And we realized that actually, they understand a lot more than we thought, because it’s always been around us without us really focusing on it. It’s amazing to see how their brains are like sponges, you know?

Emily
They’re so young, but they pick up everything, and really fast. And actually, my new partner has a little one who’s 3 too. And we’re starting to have the families meet often. At Christmas, we laughed so hard. All three of them were sitting on the couch together singing « Jingle Bells » in English. It’s so impressive how quickly they pick up the other language. The more they’re surrounded by it, it just becomes very natural. They learn it really, really quickly.

Joanie
Absolutely, yes. And what I find interesting too is how attached you are to Gaspésie, and how the sense of belonging to the land goes beyond the language you speak, beyond where you come from or what you do. It transcends all of that. And I think it’s beautiful. I also find it great that there are more and more initiatives aimed at bringing different cultures closer, like Gaspesian Day, which is now Journée de la Gaspésie – Gaspesian Day – Gespe’gewa’gi. There’s also « Nous Trois, Nesisieg, We Three, » which is a tri-cultural festival. There are more and more initiatives like that in the region. I think it’s really important to invest in this wealth of sharing all these cultures. And speaking of that, we’ve mentioned it a little—you’re involved as an elected counselor with the Mi’qmaq Nation of Gaspé. Has that always been a part of your identity that was important? Or did that come later in life, the idea of being part of the Gespeg Mi’gmaq Nation and wanting to get involved?

Emily
Well, we’ve always known, you know, that Gespeg isn’t on a reserve. So, we’ve always lived together, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. And my grandmother was so funny. She always said her mother was Mi’qmaq, but she wasn’t allowed to talk about it. So, our whole lives, all my aunts and uncles, that was the only bit of information we had. But as my grandmother got older, she talked a little more about her mother, who was Mi’qmaq. But since she married my great-grandfather, who was Catholic, she wasn’t allowed to talk about it. So, in our family, and this is true for many families here, we never had the chance to know our culture. But as time went on, we began to discover, my God, how many Mi’qmaq families and descendants are right here in Gaspé. It’s really impressive. So, like I said, I took an interest in history. My uncle and I started digging into it to find all sorts of things. And we found out we were officially Mi’qmaq. Right here in Gaspé, there are almost 2,000 members now. It’s huge. And there are a lot of other families whose grandparents or great-grandparents weren’t allowed to talk about it either. We’re not on a reserve. But now, we’re starting to realize, wow, we have such a rich history here. We’re talking about places like Forillon—it’s part of us. So, it was in my twenties that I really began to discover this. And I realized that in our family, you know, when I was studying in Lennoxville, I had friends who identified as Italian or Spanish. And I was like, « Well, I’m from Gaspé, from Rosebridge. » But now I understand that I was missing such a big part of our culture and heritage, and I’ve really immersed myself in it. And it’s wonderful that my daughters will have the chance to grow up with that. My father, my brother, and I, we never had that chance, and neither did my grandmother. So, it’s really important for us, really, really important.

Joanie
That’s so interesting, what you’re sharing. A lot of Indigenous women who married lost their status too, and if it weren’t for oral tradition, we wouldn’t even know it happened because it was completely erased from history. I think it’s a beautiful gift your grandmother gave you, even if it was unintentional, by eventually talking about it so that you could dig into it. Yes, and I also find it interesting that you felt like something was missing in your identity. I’m fascinated by identity—really, I am. I’m obsessed with Gaspésie, but the idea of territorial identity, how our connection to the land shapes who we are. Do you feel now that being from Gaspé and being part of Gespeg has influenced who you are?

Emily
Oh, yes, for sure. I also love Gaspésie, and I was involved with Vision Gaspé to work on connecting our Anglophone community with the Francophone community and the three Mi’qmaq communities. And when I found out I was Mi’qmaq, I really, really wanted to be involved in the community and give my children a chance to discover that culture together. So, one night, I was talking to my cousin, and I said, “I think I’m going to run for council.” She said, “Yes, go for it.” And I said, “Great,” put together a little campaign, and two weeks later, I was elected. Being from Gespeg and being elected for the community is one of the best things in my life. It’s such a wonderful experience, meeting people and creating closer ties with Gesgapegiag and Listuguj. It’s amazing. And just a few months ago, we had a meeting with the three communities, and I saw a man walk in. We looked at each other, and he said, « Emily? » I said, « Shawn? » We went to Cégep together, and we couldn’t stop laughing. Here we were, sitting at an adult meeting, laughing so hard. We spent a couple of hours together in Cégep, and now here we are as adults. It’s so fun. I love it here in Gaspésie. Even when I go to school tournaments, softball, badminton, basketball, the teachers are the same people I competed with throughout my youth. And now we’re the ones in charge, and we laugh about it. It’s such a unique life experience. That’s how it’s been since elementary and high school, and now in our adult lives too. It’s always been special, and I love it. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, and I’m glad my daughters will get to experience it too.

Joanie
It really sounds like a close-knit community, from what I’m hearing.

Emily
Yes, definitely.

Joanie
So, as an elected councilor, what exactly do you do? Is it very similar to what happens in, say, a municipal council like in Gaspé? I think you have more jurisdictions though, right?

Emily
Yes, but actually, in Gespeg, we’re a bit different. Like I said, we don’t have a reserve, but each councilor has political files they follow. So, for me, it’s education and working with Forillon Park. Each councilor has about two or three files, and we work on those for our community. But we also handle bigger political issues. We work with our sister communities like Gesgapegiag and Listuguj. So, we do everything that’s done at the municipal level, but for our community. We also often talk with the three other levels of government — municipal, federal, and provincial. It never stops, but it’s really fun. My favorite part is meeting with our members here in Gespeg, listening to what we need. You know, we have English speakers, French speakers, and now we’re identifying as Mi’qmaq. That’s something new in my life, and it’s something everyone is experiencing together. It’s really unique, and we’re building really special connections, which I love.

Joanie
I find it so interesting to hear you. Are you the youngest elected member? Are there other young people serving as well?

Emily
Currently, I’m the youngest in Gespeg, yes. In Gespeg, it’s me. However, we’re starting to see younger people in elections. I mean, I say « younger, » but I consider myself young at 33. So, people from our generation, millennials, we’re starting to get involved. Even at the municipal level, there’s Charlie-Maude Giroux, who’s also elected. We’re the same age. We’ve met up at Café Oscar, too. Then, at the provincial level, there’s Méganne Perry-Melançon. It’s really great that we cross paths and work together. When we meet with the Chamber of Commerce, we see people our age super involved because we all share a love for Gaspé. So, it’s really, really fun. But for Gespeg, yes, I’m the youngest. In the other two communities, there are people around our age, but no one younger for now.

Joanie
I think we’re going to hear more about these realities because, as I mentioned when we talked before the podcast, I grew up here in the 90s-2000s. It was a time when we didn’t talk much about these realities. I remember learning the names of Gaspésie’s villages, like in my area—Bonaventure, Saint-Simeon, Caplan, New Richmond, Maria—but I never heard about Gesgapegiag. We didn’t learn about it. So, with my kids, I make a point of highlighting these realities, so they understand. We speak French, teach the kids English, and throw in a few Mi’qmaq words when we can. I think it’s useful and necessary to raise awareness, so they have a sensitivity that we didn’t have growing up. Last year, I was at the Bonaventure Book Fair, and the Éditions Hannenorak, a publishing house dedicated to Indigenous literature, were there. I bought *The Tales of the Turtle*. We often read them with my kids—it’s 13 Indigenous stories from the nations of Quebec. I think it’s important to raise awareness. My kids love those stories because they feature animals, nature, and humor. It’s fascinating to see them naturally include this in their learning, much easier than it was for us. I think it’s important.

Emily
Yes, totally. I also think social media helps us stay more connected. We have things like *Every Child Matters*, which has become so popular. I feel like today’s youth are more connected and empathetic. They start learning about residential schools and imagine being at school, seeing a friend getting beaten by someone in power. I think they’re starting to realize how wrong it was and want to speak out about it. I’m a teacher, too, so when I teach, we talk about it. I often mention how lucky we are to have a Francophone, an Anglophone, and an Indigenous community all around us. It’s really, really rich. You don’t usually associate regions like ours with a lot of cultures, but it’s incredibly rich. I think of my daughters, who have a Francophone dad, an Anglophone mom, and a Mi’qmaq mom. They have the best of all three worlds.

Joanie
It’s true that we don’t naturally associate regions like Quebec’s Gaspésie with such cultural richness. Yet it’s very present. The fact that we have people speaking French and English comes from several waves of immigration to Gaspésie over time, and the different accents mix so much. If I mention Bonaventure, New Carlisle, or Paspébiac, these are three villages next to each other—two French-speaking and one English-speaking—and the accents are completely different because the origins are different. We’ve got Acadians, Basques and Loyalist. It’s such a rich part of history that doesn’t get highlighted much. It’s still a surprise for many people to come to Gaspésie and hear English spoken. But for us, it’s normal. You go to the mall, and you hear both languages blending all the time.

Emily
Yes, at the Tim Hortons in Paspébiac, you’re sure to hear English. Every time I go there, I run into someone I’ve played badminton with before.

Joanie
There’s something else I found interesting, and I’d like to talk to you about it because you recently mentioned it publicly on social media. You had health issues and needed to access services, which wasn’t easy. Do you want to talk a bit about why you decided to speak out and what happened?

Emily
Well, in my adult life, I’ve had health problems twice where Gaspésie couldn’t really heal me. I don’t know if « heal » is the right word, but they couldn’t treat me, and I had to go elsewhere. Recently, in October, I found out I had a brain tumor. I met with a specialist and called my mom because I couldn’t wait anymore. She said, « Emily, sit down and wait. » The specialist came to get me and said, « Ms. Roberts, I need to talk to you right away. » And OK, you have a brain tumor, and it looks strange. There’s a high chance it’s cancer. I was in total shock. I already knew that I couldn’t be treated in Gaspé, despite the amazing nurses, specialists, and doctors. So, I asked if I should go to Sherbrooke, Montreal, or Quebec City—the three urban centers. She said it would be Quebec, at Enfant-Jésus, but beyond that, she didn’t know. So, I left like that, called my dad, and said, « Come get me. I have a brain tumor. » I said it just like that, and he vomited in the parking lot. He totally lost it. He couldn’t cope, so my brother came. That’s one thing about Gaspé—you live close to the hospital, so that was good. But for months, I didn’t have answers or follow-up. Every day, I thought, « You have a brain tumor. » Every time I had a seizure, I had more and more. Friends who are doctors told me to go to the ER. I saw doctors looking at me, saying, « You have a brain tumor, » trying to transfer me to Quebec, but it wasn’t working. Quebec was overloaded, and it was during the strikes that fall. I was panicking. I saw a story on the news about a man in a similar situation, though his was cancerous, unlike mine, but he was also waiting months for MRIs. In Gaspésie, our MRI machine moves between Gaspé, Chandler, Maria, and sometimes Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. For example, tomorrow, I have an MRI in Maria because that’s where the machine is. It’s a whole other world. Many people don’t understand how hard it is to get care. But I’ve always had a good experience in Gaspé. I feel like our doctors get it—they know what it’s like to have to travel 700 kilometers for treatment or fly out. It’s something. Finally, after three months of waiting, I got a spot in Quebec City and left. Even now, my doctors in Gaspé coordinate with Quebec to make sure all my needs are met.

And before that, throughout my twenties, I wanted to get pregnant. I was excited to share Gaspésie with future children. But after three years, it wasn’t happening. And like you, when your significant other works up north on a special schedule, you start planning early. Still, it wasn’t working. Eventually, I found out I was extremely infertile. This was around 2017-2018. We had to go to Montreal right away for treatments. We spent about six weeks there—sometimes I was alone because my partner had to work. I went through the treatments alone in Montreal. It was tough, but I think anyone living in Gaspésie knows this isn’t new to us. We know what it’s like. How many friends do you know who leave for Quebec to give birth? That’s just how it is. We don’t have a choice, and we live with it. I’ve only dealt with the Gaspé hospital, but I feel like our doctors and nurses understand because they live it too. I always feel supported by them, and they try to explain everything and provide as much help as they can. However, they are also limited in what they can offer.

Joanie
It really highlights the unique challenges of rural healthcare, particularly in a region like Gaspésie where access to specialists and services is so spread out or delayed.I thought it was important to talk about this because with this podcast, I don’t want to put on rose-colored glasses. We love living in Gaspésie, but we are aware there are challenges. When it comes to health issues, we know it’s not that easy. There have been battles, like for hemodialysis in Gaspé, for example. There are many topics like this that it’s important to bring up publicly so that one day, people will realize what it can be like and how stressful it can be. There’s no childbirth happening at your hospital, and it’s winter, so you might give birth in a snowstorm before reaching the other hospital, which is like 200 kilometers away. This is part of our reality. As you said, we’re aware, and we wouldn’t live anywhere else, but there are extra challenges, I think, that come with having to travel so much for such sensitive issues.

Emily
I think we grew up with this, so we accept it, but at some point, it has to change because I think it would be more acceptable. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mom, but I think if something happens to my little one, and she has to fly alone while I drive 800 kilometers, and she’s all by herself… That’s huge to think about, to manage properly, and to be there for your child in such a serious situation. We grow up knowing that this is our reality. But I also think that over time, we’ll have to accept it less because we should have the same services as everywhere else in Quebec. Just this morning, I had a follow-up for my brain tumor, and I called my co-parent afterward and said, you know, I’m probably going to go for radiation. That’s six weeks in Rimouski, eight minutes a day. So, you know, we talk about how to manage things for the kids and everything. It’s just something we have to deal with, and that’s how it is, but it’s huge. It’s huge.

Joanie
Absolutely. Absolutely. You see, I have family members who have experienced… when a child has to be transported by ambulance, by air ambulance to Quebec City or Montreal, and then an uncle has to drive… But you know, that’s also the thing with Gaspesians. We’re everywhere, and we stick together, so often, family members in Montreal or Quebec will take over. And as you mentioned, in the hospitals here, there’s such a strong support network because we all know each other. Ultimately, we’re all connected. There’s a more human side that’s even more present. And some health care is easier to access here too. I had a minor surgery on my head to remove cysts two years ago. I waited two weeks. I wasn’t even sure when they called me. Some minor things are much quicker, but for major issues, the delays are unacceptable.

Emily
Exactly. But we’re ready to deal with it. I think we’re also prepared to work to make sure that eventually our population will have access to these services. Our community is our priority, and so is our quality of life. And that goes hand in hand with the services we have the right to access.

Joanie
Absolutely. I heard you talk earlier about our generation, the Millenials. I’m hopeful that we’ll speak out about these kinds of things and that we’re capable of stepping up. I find it beautiful and touching to see us moving forward. Especially when it’s women, as you mentioned earlier, Charlie-Maude, Méganne, you—it’s all women of the same age in political positions. I find it touching and beautiful to see you taking action.

Emily
It’s true. And it’s fun when we find each other, you know, we take a moment, breathe, and go. But it’s really fun and motivating, also for the next generation. It will be great to see women who can be moms, have full-time jobs, and follow their passion in politics. It’s a lot. I know you know what I mean. We talk about this often. I don’t know if you’re on Instagram, but it cracks me up. It makes my day when my friends send reels about overloaded moms. And you see that women go through this every day, but we get through it because we want our kids to live in a slightly different world than the one we grew up in. That’s what motivates us.

Joanie
Absolutely. Truly. You know, I have two kids, a boy and a girl, and when I had my daughter, I thought it was important that she not repeat the same things I did. I thought it was important that she understands she can set her limits, for example, and many other things like that. It’s not that it’s not important for my son, but it feels doubly important to ensure that my daughter learns to respect herself because we often take on a lot as women, because society pushes us to. You know, it’s not just a personal choice, it’s because we live in a society that values these things a lot.

Emily
Exactly. You have to have a good job, go to school, but also keep the house clean, and after giving birth, you have to get slim again. It’s a lot. After giving birth, you go back home, and we know what that’s like on your body. You still have to manage everything, like doing the dishes and all. It’s really… But at the same time, I think it’s our generation. We work really hard. I also see how millennials are driven and performance-based, and we really want things to change so that the next generation has a little more zen in their lives.

Joanie
Well said. I have a few quick questions for you before we wrap up. If I ask you for your favorite Gaspésian expression, what would it be?

Emily
Oh, I’m feeling so « magané » today.

Joanie
Magané, that’s… You can’t say it in English and have it make sense. It has to be magané. What’s your go-to order at Dixie Lee?

Emily
My order at Dixie Lee is a slice of pizza with a chicken breast, white meat.

Joanie
Your must-visit beach?

Emily
Penouille, but the beginning of Penouille.

Joanie
I knew you were going to say that.

Emily
It’s my favorite.

Joanie
And a must-do in Gaspésie, in your opinion?

Emily
Oh, this might be controversial, but it’s always shocked me. When I worked at the Cégep, every October I had students from outside the region who were in Gaspésie. And every year, but I remember the first time, I had students come to my office, pale as ghosts, coming from Tim Hortons, saying, « Madame, there are moose heads on cars! What’s going on? » And I’d say, « Yeah, it’s hunting season. » That’s something, a tradition that doesn’t shock us, but it does shock people from outside. But the must-do for me is Forillon Park. You have to visit every sector if possible, grab an ice cream at the creamery in Cap-des-Rosiers, and visit Cap-Bon-Ami. That, to me, is amazing.

Joanie
It really is beautiful. What’s your wish for the future, Emily?

Emily
Oh, I wish that future generations, like my kids… I want to stay in Gaspésie, and I want them to stay too, but I also want them to be free to choose where to go in life. I’d like there to be less hesitation about coming back to Gaspésie, where you don’t feel like you’re sacrificing as much by choosing Gaspésie as your home. So, I think that’s it. I think our generation is really going to work on that, and we already are. But yes, I hope it becomes easier to say, « Yes, I’m going back home, » and that it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice.

Joanie
I love that. I love that. Emily, a huge thank you for being with us today. It was a real pleasure talking with you, truly.

Emily
Thank you. Welalin, Joanie.

Joanie
We’ve come to the end already. Thank you for listening. I hope you were inspired by my guest. If you enjoyed your experience, feel free to leave a comment or share the episode with your network. You can also follow me online or subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss the next episode. See you soon!

(transcription generated by AI)