March 12, 1932

At his bedroom desk, the vicar of the Saint-Boniface Cathedral parish is working on his 4th draft of a letter he is addressing to the Bishop of Quebec for his permission. Above all, he wants to explain to him why his desire to introduce an education outside the academic setting is so dear to him. In his small room at the top of the residence, he puts his chin in his left palm and sighs. If he could just find the right words to put! But prose has never served him so badly…..closing his eyes he sees again the scores of young people he helped at his classmate's camp. What enthusiasm! What a joy to be part of such a united and disparate team. He relives the camp spent with these young people who, before, were only strangers. He got to know little Julien, hesitantly; the great Mario, imbued with his superiority and who in the end is only a poor guy for whom life is not easy for him and whom he hid under a sought-after casualness. His memory reminds him of the few evenings when, without warning, they find themselves together near a sparkling fire, fed by the team in turn. So many memories of good times spent together. 

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Opening his eyes, Emilien goes back to his letter. He has in front of him his well of ink, his notes, the skylight window, his lighted candle, his little bowl of salt. He pulls the woolen cape around his shoulders. It is not hot at the beginning of March and his small attic room is at the top of the house, the heat of the oil furnace only offers a small trickle of heat at this altitude. He smiles. It reminds him of the cold night spent in camp. The world climate is tense with communist tendencies spreading more and more. Nothing can be done except by formulating a plan for Scouting to be accepted by its peers and the authority of the church in Canada. 

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Volunteer of character, he does not hesitate to put himself at the service of others but from there to want to break Catholic laws, he does not dare seen his position at the Cathedral. Writing a letter to plead the cause of the youth movement that enthuses should be simple, right? Emilien isn't so sure. The Archbishop of Quebec didn't want to know anything, didn't even want to grant him an audience after the camp he lived through and conquered last October. All the letters he has written since November come back "undeliverable". He might be discouraged, but his dad always told him that when he knows it's God's will, he's got the right to go for it. He sighs. What a waste of time. 

A knock on his door interrupts his dark thoughts. Getting up, Emilien goes to open the door. “Ah, it's you Isidore. What is it? »

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“Monsignor asks for our help to move a piece of furniture in the parlor. »

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" I come. Blowing out his candle, he sighs again. The letter will have to wait. An hour later he returns after having not only moved the buffet with Isidore, Noël and Francis but also the dining table and the twelve chairs while Bishop Béliveau supervises. A yawn interrupts his gesture of wanting to complete his letter. Burn the candle at both ends? He has sick visits to do tomorrow in addition to a low mass at the Cathedral at 6 a.m., a high mass at 10:30 a.m. and registers to continue for the cemetery before noon, dinner and then his visits to the hospital. and then a trip to St-Vital for the sterilized visit to the Sanatorium of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal. Several children of his parishioners are in a state of tuberculosis crisis. 

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“Okay, well, I'm going to have to finish it tomorrow. But he nods. If he doesn't finish it tonight, another week will pass before he can post it. " Never mind. I have to finish it tonight. »

Going to his little desk, he holds the lighter over the wick of his candle and sits down again. Dipping his fountain pen into the little box of ink, he decides to simply put his ideas into it and embellish it with his feelings. This group of young campers was very different from the others of his youth in Quebec. Many times he sat on a log or a cut tree stump by the fire with the young guys to ask them questions. Several hours spent studying nature, tracking animal tracks, building cooking tables, storage tables or dining tables with simple cord or hemp twine and branches, sunny days sending Morse code messages to each other , semaphore and big game hunts where he was awarded a trophy for setting a record time in a knee race! All this helped to convince him that this is what the young people to whom he teaches catechesis lack, especially those who wander in the neighborhood. It was the work of improving the person that amazed him the most.

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Laurin had promised him an experience rich in twists and turns for his vacation and had asked for his help in spirituality. Unsure of what to expect, he had prepared several age-appropriate sermons for the boys. Emilien chuckles. Ah, if he had known what would happen to him on the first day, he would have better spent his camp prep time washing his bedroom floor! After the scenes and songs, the guys had asked him many questions why he had become a priest and what he did when he was not. Remained a little surprised by the questions, he had answered frankly all the same. In the evening, lying under the canvas tarpaulin, snugly encased in the tube of his sleeping bag, he asked God what he should do with the written pages. After exercise and the morning wash, he took his notes and threw them on the fire._cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d

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Neither the youngsters nor Laurin would have seen the need for it. Sitting around the lunch, dinner or supper table, singing a blessing before eating, or during a hike to ask God's protection for their activity, each patrol had done what was necessary without having to do anything. In the evening, around the sparkling fire discussing the activities of the day, the guys exchanged remarks that touched their daily lives, asked his opinion on various Christian subjects, role-playing games that made him laugh to tears had made him see the value of what Laurin called scouting – an apprenticeship in life at the service of others – whether towards nature, towards the Earth or the Church, each of the young people left this camp older than before, more resourceful and sure of himself. An inculcation of human and Christian values that had surprised, enchanted and conquered him. 

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Going back to work with the image of the twenty boys between eleven and sixteen, their eyes reflecting the orange glow of the flames and listening to the story of Jesus presented as a knight in search of hidden treasure in the soul of a dragon had opened a window of hope. Scouting was what he dreamed of, started in Saint-Boniface, for the good of young people, their families and their heritage. 

On April 30, 1932, the Archbishop of Ottawa received a second letter dated April 5 from Father Émilien Léveque, vicar at the Saint-Boniface Cathedral parish in Manitoba, aimed at reminding him of the reason for his first March letter. He hesitated to give his consent to this youth movement which had already interested young people from French-speaking parishes in joining the ranks of English-speaking Protestants. It was as if a great wave of non-Catholic temptation seized young people of age to go up to the seminary without warning. 

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“We should look into it seriously, Monsignor. We are being robbed of our young people! And what's more, they don't want to come to mass anymore! »

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Nodding his head, the Archbishop of Ottawa replied: “Please tell Father Lévèque that I approve of his request for the good of our French-speaking parishes in the West. You are right to say that we have to keep these young people at home, in their environment. We will also have to think about their future and that of Rome. »

"And if they all decide to go to the English, we'll have more priests!" »

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Rereading the abbot's letter as his talkative secretary emerged from the office, the Archbishop turned his seat to the window overlooking the surging expanse of the Rideau Canal. The eddies of the channel are too close to what he has just heard. Nodding his head he reread the exploits of the young boys. What adventures! And what memories of youth! “There is good in everything. Maybe one day I will see the same. And the man to get back to work while throwing, from time to time, a look at the letter.

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On May 15, 1932, Father Lévèque finally received permission to start a group of boys in his parish. Setting foot in the wheelbarrow the next day, he formed the first troop of Franco-Canadian Scouts. Soon several troops formed with hired leaders. 

To be continued……

This is our founding date of the Francophone scout movement in Manitoba and for Western Canada. We celebrate in the scout year 2022-23 our 90th anniversary. Father Émilien Lévèque fought to establish scouting in Manitoba, which eventually spread west. 

A movement rich in ties in community fraternity but even more worldwide. From the small group of 8 boys with which it started in September 1931 after its summer trip to Quebec with Laurin, scouting has grown to become the largest youth movement dedicated to the protection of the environment, which seeks peace. and justice, and educating young people to feel good about themselves has more than forty-three million young people in the world!

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The weekly gatherings lead a young person to discover himself in a healthy way and at his own pace. Through learning through play and action, he trained several leaders of our Franco-Manitoban community – Charles Laflèche – Momentum Healthware, Raymond Simard – formally a federal deputy, Father Isaïe Blanchette, omi, Guy Morier, Me Denis Labossière , Robert Pelletier – Desjardins Funeral Home, Joël Gosselin – Grand Chevalier Conseil Goulet, Rénald Johnson, Richard Cormier (rip)- former commissioner, troop leader, chefmestre…, Lucien Loiselle – Commissioner of Official Languages, Lucienne Loiselle – founder of the branch Castor of the ASC, Robert Mucha – locksmith and former commissioner, Michel Loiselle – group leader and Captain of the Compagnie de la Vérendrye, Denis Rémillard (rip) – Jardins St-Léon, Herménégilde Dubé (rip) – former commissioner of the Fédération des Scouts de l'Ouest, Michel Dubé – former animator- Cub Scout branch, Father Gérard Dionne – former clan leader and post, commissioner, chaplain, etc. 

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To be continued...