A sunny Saturday morning was the backdrop for the 8th annual Peace Road Montréal event honouring the Founders’ 1981 initiative to build an international highway of peace across the globe, from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to Santiago, Chile.

A visionary project of this magnitude must start somewhere, and to be successful it will have to garner the support of the world’s population to the degree that governments gradually agree to cooperate by building their portions of the road within their jurisdictions.

With all that in mind, the Peace Road project has been undertaken in many countries over the past decade or so. In Canada, and specifically in Montréal, Peace Road has become an occasion for political and civic leaders to join with average citizens to celebrate a moment of peace outside the usual cut and thrust of everyday life.

This year, on September 12, over one hundred participants turned out in beautiful weather, including religious, political and civic leaders as well as regular folks. Seven organizations chose to officially partner with UPF: the Lions Club of Canada and Montréal, the Focolare Movement, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, the Conseil des leaders religieux de Montréal-Nord, the Centre Bon Courage, the Maison des jeunes L’Ouverture and the Regroupement Jeunesse en action. Activities began in the morning when all gathered to launch the event at Parc Beaudet, in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montréal, where there is a monument in honour of the International Day of Peace. Our date for the Peace Road event is always chosen as close as possible to the United Nations designated International Day of Peace on September 21 each year.

Mr. Aref Salem, vice-chair of the City of Montréal Executive Committee and long-time Ambassador for Peace of UPF, along with André A. Morin, Member of the National Assembly for neighbouring Acadie, led the political lineup with words of encouragement, while the borough mayor, Alan DeSousa, called to excuse himself this year for family reasons. Supporters from the Lions Club were present, and Bahá’í representative Gigi Vidal also spoke as head of the International Day of Peace committee at COSSL, the neighbourhood roundtable for the Saint-Laurent borough. Mr. Berj Merdjanian, owner of Photo Cristal and long-time Saint-Laurent community leader, was again among the dignitaries as in prior years, and ABC Centre Director General Henriette Konté was acknowledged for her presence.

Among the cyclists and participants were several dozen youth who were eager to enjoy some good exercise in fine weather. In fact, this year’s coordinator for the event was Wanil Parfait, a young UPF leader who represents a growing UPF orientation toward youth leadership in our region. All participants could benefit from interacting with political and civic officials who have lent unreserved support for this activity.

The event took place over two locations, as the cyclists started in one borough and cycled 15 km, approximately 9 miles, to the borough of Montréal-Nord across town. There, at Parc Eusèbe-Ménard, UPF members and friends gathered with partners from sponsoring organizations under a permanent gazebo and with tents and chairs set up by the borough, awaiting the arrival of the cyclists, who had taken the scenic route along the Rivière des Prairies.

After their arrival at 11:30 a.m., a full program began, including encouraging remarks by political and civic leaders from the area, and a multicultural program expressing the various communities’ commitment to peace.

Speeches

• Mr. Abdelhaq Sari, Member of Parliament for the Bourassa riding and a longtime friend of UPF.
• Mr. Tony Nahas, Lions Clubs International’s Area Leader for Canada, who recalled the friendship agreement between the Lions and UPF, as well as the launch of the Eternal Flame of Peace by Lions Clubs International, during which UPF inducted Mark S. Lyon, International President of Lions Clubs International, as Ambassador for Peace.
• Ms. Sara Nadeau, Governor of Lions District U1 Canada, who expressed her support for our efforts for peace and the Lions’ determination to promote this vision.

Artistic presentations

• A dance performance, Path to Calm, presented by Femmes Internationales Murs Brisés Canada in collaboration with The Blue Swan Guild Canada.
• A song and an interactive game by representatives of the Focolare Movement, originally a Roman Catholic lay movement, now operating ecumenically in 180 countries, with Eastern Canada co-director Pascal Bédros.
• An original song by Christa Maria Abou Akl, Lebanese-Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and performer.
• A song by Mégane, and a message from Sheilla Fortuné, executive director of the Maison des jeunes L’Ouverture.
• A group sing-along led by Suzy Tremblay with tambourine, highlighting Indigenous culture.
• A poem by Orlando Ceide, youth coordinator at the Centre Bon Courage.

Beyond these fine performances and these texts, which remind us of our hope to see the world at peace and of our shared will to bring it about, what marked the day was the spirit of sharing and the strengthening of our partnerships.

Thank you to the borough of Montréal-Nord, which provided the tables, chairs, tents and access to electricity at Parc Eusèbe-Ménard, and thank you to the local sponsors VertCité, Ermis Fruit Shop and Tim Hortons for the coffee and donuts.

Our special thanks to our partners, our volunteers and the Peace Road coordinators: Mr. Wanil Parfait, Ms. Isabelle Laurin, Mr. Robert Duffy, Mr. Pierre Beauregard and Dr. Franco Famularo.

Thank you as well to everyone who carried the organization of this event, to the partners who invested their creativity in it and to the participants who support one another’s efforts for peace, efforts that must merge into one great call for a world that is one family under God.

Vive Peace Road!