Four exceptional Quebecers are expected be honoured at a ceremony on Tuesday at the National Assembly. Three of them — Tommy Kulczyk, Louise Otis and Françoise Sullivan — are set to receive the Medal of Honour from National Assembly President Nathalie Roy, while former minister and political columnist Jean Lapierre will be posthumously awarded the President’s Medal. Now 102 years old, Françoise Sullivan is the last surviving signatory of the Refus global, a text presented in 1948 by 16 artists associated with the group Les Automatistes denouncing the rigidity of Quebec’s traditional values and considered a precursor to Quebec’s cultural modernity. Sullivan, a creator whose body of work spans eight decades, is a pioneer of contemporary dance and a leading figure in modern art. A multidisciplinary artist, she has been a painter, dancer, choreographer, photographer, sculptor, conceptual artist and writer. Tommy Kulczyk is one of the co-founders of the organization Sun Youth, where he worked for 35 years. He also served as a municipal councillor in Saint-Jérôme and as commissioner for children for the City of Montreal. He served as President and CEO of the Breakfast Club from 2022 to 2025, before announcing his retirement. Louise Otis served as a judge in the Superior Court and later the Court of Appeal. She developed one of the world’s first judicial mediation programs and is currently President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization Treaty of Atlantic North (NATO) and the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She also serves as a deputy judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). She is also Chair of the Board of Directors of Quebec’s worker health and safety board, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST). Jean Lapierre had a political and media career that left a lasting mark on Quebec for many years until his tragic death ten years ago in a plane crash that claimed his life and those of his loved ones as they travelled to Îles-de-la-Madeleine for his father’s funeral. He is set to receive the President’s Medal, the highest honour awarded by the Speaker of the National Assembly. A federal Liberal MP for Shefford at age 23 and a minister at age 28, Lapierre co-founded the Bloc Québécois in the early 1990s with Lucien Bouchard in the wake of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. He left politics in 1992 to become a political columnist before returning under the Liberal banner from 2004 to 2007 as the MP for Outremont. He then returned to political commentary, carving out a reputation for his humour, colourful explanations and unique expressions. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 13, 2026.
