Dionne survivors hope for a legacy
SAINT-BRUNO-DE-MONTARVILLE, Que. — Cecile and Annette Dionne have just two items on their wish list as they get set to celebrate their 83rd birthday Sunday.
The surviving Dionne quintuplets would like various levels of government to ensure their soon-to-be-relocated birthplace in North Bay has a consistent source of funding once it is moved.
And in a rare interview, the sisters said they’d also like to see Canada do more to prevent child abuse.
The identical sisters were born on May 28, 1934, near the village of Corbeil, Ont., and were the first quintuplets known to survive more than a few days. The Ontario government took them from their parents and placed them in a special hospital where they spent the first nine years of their lives and served as a tourist attraction that poured roughly $500 million into provincial coffers. Their poor parents had plenty of contact and lived nearby. They had needed help if there was to be any chance of healthy survival, the province and medical officials felt. Some felt they were exploited.
Because of their own experience with exploitation, the sisters are now asking the government to do more for kids across Canada.
“In our case, there were huge gaps ... there was abuse,” Annette told The Canadian Press in the interview at her home south of Montreal. “So for our birthday, we wish that Canada would take better care of their children.”
“That they take the time,” Cecile chimed in. “That we can help them with their problems, that we listen to them.
“That’s what was lacking in our case.”
The surviving quints still capture the public’s interest.
Carlo Tarini, an advocate and communications specialist who works with the sisters, said they still receive letters to this day.
When news stories emerged last year that Cecile was left penniless after being bilked by a son out of what remained of her share of a settlement with the Ontario government, people sent cheques to help her, Tarini said.
The sisters are still close, often deferring to one another during conversation with a “what do you think, sis?”
While they don’t see each other in person often, they talk on the phone several times a day.
In April, the North Bay council voted to relocate the historic family cabin once again. It has been in recent years in a parking lot in a fairly commercial area. It would be moved to a waterfront area a few kilometres away.
Both sisters are urging governments to ensure a consistent source of funding for the building once it is moved.
“We need (Heritage Minister Melanie) Joly to help us make sure this museum stays open and we’ll be happy,” Cecile said.