HEC Montréal hosts and wins the grand finale of La Dictée P.G.L.
March 27, 2024
On March 22, HEC Montréal held the grand finale of La Dictée P.G.L. de la Francophonie at the Hélène Desmarais Building.
For this third edition of the competition component for adults, the School was once again a partner and host of the event. It had the privilege of being represented by two finalists: David Boisclair, Executive Director, Retirement and Savings Institute, and Marion Demers, Student, MSc en gestion de l’innovation sociale.
Tremendous mobilization for promoting the French language
Over 300 participants were involved in this edition, which was an exceptional achievement in itself.
After an initial qualifying round that took place on March 1 on the parquet floor of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a record-breaking 64 finalists went on to represent their companies in the grand finale.
Pierre-Olivier Zappa, TVA anchor and spokesperson for La Dictée P.G.L. de la Francophonie brilliantly hosted the event and joined in for the dictation. The actual dictation was read out by Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s Minister of the French language, and Minister responsible for Canadian relations and Canadian Francophonie. A musical performance by New Brunswick singer-songwriter Emilie Landry added a pleasant touch to the event.
Invited guests included the following prominent dignitaries and figures from the business and cultural communities:
- Olivier Bertin-Mahieux, Managing Director, Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie
- Caroline Bourgeois, Executive Committee vice-chair and responsible for the French language in the City of Montréal
- Sylvie Cordeau, Vice-President, Philanthropy and Sponsorships, Québecor
- André d’Orsonnens, Co-founder and CEO, Druide Informatique
- François Gérin-Lajoie, , Chairman of the Board of Directors, Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie
- Marie Josée Martin, , Author
- Jacques Robert, Professor and Director, Department of International Business
- Michel Robitaille, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques
From left to right : David Rheault (Air Canada), Jean-François Roberge (Quebec's French-language ministry), Patrice Servant (TACT Conseil), David Boisclair (HEC Montréal), Aurélie Burelle (Le Devoir), François Gérin-Lajoie and Olivier Bertin-Mahieux (Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie), Pierre-Olivier Zappa (TVA Nouvelles). Photo credit: Jean Rodie
HEC Montréal claims top spot… and shares it
The dictation for the finale, entitled “Rencontre improbable entre les âges”, and prepared by author Marie-Josée Martin, explored the evolution of the French language in the face of technological progress.
A jury chaired by Annie Galarneau, Director of the Linguistic Expertise Department, Office québécois de la langue française, corrected the dictation copies.
To everyone’s surprise, this was the first time that three finalists, including David Boisclair from HEC Montréal, jointly won the Gold Award for their outstanding command of spelling rules. To mark this, Air Canada offered each of them a pair of tickets worth $6,000 to an international French-speaking destination. The winners are:
| GOLD AWARD | David Boisclair Aurélie Burelle Patrice Servant |
HEC Montréal Le Devoir TACT Conseil |
| SILVER AWARD | Jérôme Blanchet | Ernst & Young |
| BRONZE AWARD | Caroline Vien | TV5 Québec Canada |
Through the involvement of companies, the Fondation P.G.L. has raised donations that will help support the education of young people. Half the funds raised will be given to underprivileged schools in Quebec to finance a project of their choice. The other half will be used to develop educational tools.
About the Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie
The Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie [in French only] is a non-profit organization whose mission is to contribute to the improvement of living conditions of communities through quality education in Africa and Haiti. The Fondation is also well known for its projects in socio-economic empowerment, health and food security, sustainable development, and gender equality. In Canada, it undertakes activities to increase awareness of international cooperation and solidarity.