À part entière 2014 Award
On January 16, 2015, Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire received the 2014 À part entière 2014 Award, presented to her by Ms. Manon Massée, the MP for Québec solidaire. Recipient of the prestigious award in the “Individuals” category for the Montreal region, Ms. Blanchette-Dallaire stood out from other candidates through her involvement and the tangible benefits in the lives of people with reduced mobility or functional limitations.
N.B. The following text relates to OnRouleAuQuébec, the previous name of OnRoule.org
In a press release, Ms. Massée stated:
“I am very proud to present the finalist certificate of the OPHQ À part entière Award to Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire, founder of OnRouleAuQuébec.ca, a nonprofit organization which dedicates its heart and soul to making life easier for people with reduced mobility by inventorying accessible housing, activities, and businesses. This is a great example of involvement, but also of entrepreneurship!”.
Please find attached a copy of the presentation speech, read by Ms. Cordeau during the official awards ceremony:
À part entière Award
Awarding of certificates to regional finalists
Presentation speech – January 16, 2015
Dear Member of Parliament Massé,
Dear Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire,
I am Elizabeth Cordeau, regional collective intervention advisor for the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec. I welcome you to this ceremony in honour of Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire, the À part entière Award finalist.
The À part entière government policy lends its name to this award, which honours individuals and organizations that help increase the social participation of people living with disabilities.
Awarded every two years since 2008, this award is designed to encourage individual and collective initiatives and to reward concrete action in order to inspire everyone to take action at school, at work and in their communities.
This year, people and organizations from all regions of Quebec are being honoured in four categories: individuals; nonprofit organizations; municipalities and MRCs; ministries and their networks, and public and parapublic organizations.
224 applications were evaluated by regional juries. Here in Montreal, Ms. Dallaire’s achievements were particularly notable.
In 2012, Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire had a sporting accident, forcing her to use a wheelchair for several months and, at the same time, to experience the lack of accessibility to several types of businesses in the regions. Using her web design skills, Ms. Dallaire created a website that lists local businesses that are accessible. In 2013, the site, OnRouleMontréal, which became OnRouleAuQuébec, added a section listing accessible accommodations and housing. Site visitors can also be involved by evaluating and commenting on the listed locations. Furthermore, accessible activities of various organizations can be relayed on this site. All these actions allow people with disabilities related to mobility to reduce their level of isolation by allowing them to find answers to their needs. By extension, the evaluation of the accessibility of businesses raises awareness for businesses and employers concerning the situation of people with disabilities. Since then, Ms. Dallaire has won various awards, in addition to writing articles, making appearances in the media, working with several partners, setting up a Facebook page and organizing related activities. Ms. Dallaire also has plans for the future, which are to make the platform bilingual, automated and accessible to specialized readers[K1] . She would also like to develop a mobile application. Finally, Ms. Dallaire strives to develop an entrepreneurship program within the OnRouleAuQuébec site.
The Montreal jury determined that Ms. Dallaire’s candidacy stood out through the partnerships established, as well as its impact, relevance and originality. Ms. Dallaire’s project helps break down the barriers to social participation of people with disabilities and contributes to building a more inclusive society.
That is why Ms. Manon Massé, MP for Sainte-Marie – St-Jacques, joins the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec in honouring Ms. Dallaire today.
We offer our sincere congratulations to Ms. Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire! Our region is proud to have you!
Elisabeth Cordeau
Regional collective intervention advisor
Direction de l’intervention collective régionale de l’Ouest (DICRO)
Office des personnes handicapées du Québec (OPHQ)
500, boul. René-Lévesque Ouest, office 15.700, Montréal, Qc, H2Z 1W7
Telephone: 1-866-680-1930 # 68785 / Numéro général : 1-800-567-1465
Teletypewriter: 1-800-567-1477
Fax: 514-873-4299
Email: elisabeth.cordeau@ophq.gouv.qc.ca
Website: www.ophq.gouv.qc.ca