Céline Le Bourdais, James McGill Professor of Sociology, was one of 25 honourees at a gala on April 25 hosted by CIRANO, the Centre universitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations, which celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Le Bourdais was hailed as a “world-renowned demographer” whose research contributed greatly to the study of changing family law and family policy, both in Quebec and in Canada as a whole.
In an interview, Le Bourdais said that she was “very surprised and excited” at being honoured among such a distinguished group of researchers and policy-makers .
Not actually a member of CIRANO herself, Le Bourdais has worked closely with some of its members and always appreciated the quality and the relevance of CIRANO’s contributions.
The event was in tribute to builders who contributed to Quebec’s public policy progress over the last quarter century through their involvement in civil, political or scientific issues. Le Bourdais was cited for having “promoted the development of social policies adapted to the new reality of today’s family.”
She said that her research focused in part on the impact on families of factors such as divorce, single-parenthood, step families and common-law unions. She also conducted extensive research on parental custody of children, alimony and fathers’ access rights to their children.
“I’ve been working on this for 30, 35 years,” Le Bourdais said.
CIRANO president Nathalie de Marcellis Warin said that “we wanted to show through 25 years of experience that university researchers can help formulate public policy for the next 25 years. It will help enormously with issues like climate change and new technologies.”
Among the event’s attendees were four former Quebec premiers; Daniel Johnson, Pierre-Marc Johnson, Pauline Marois and Philippe Couillard.