“I remember the referendum in ’95, slugging it out for a few years. A lot of galleries closed. I was dependent on gallery income to support myself. Gentrification did come in and I did lose studios because of developers wanting to turn them into condos. I jumped ship. I went to Vancouver for about three years and promptly discovered they have the same issue there. It was not just unique to Montreal.

I did come back. I missed the two languages. Vancouver was not sustainable. It was not doable. It was just too expensive. I think that, again, my father’s foresight in saying, “I want my kids to learn the language.” Helped considerably. I don’t think you can live here without some sort of access through language, that portal. I’m delighted that I had that and I work on the French side of the film board. We’re all in this together. I think that if we have more of that narrative, there’s only good things that can come out of it.”