A Timmins councillor hopes that with the work she's doing, she can be a role model and an example to girls.
Born and raised in Timmins, Michelle Boileau, 32, is actively involved in the community and municipal politics.
“It’s important to encourage girls to have big aspirations and help them get there,” Boileau says. “That’s what it takes. It takes an example … so that’s the thing I hope I’m doing with my work.”
Boileau says she’s always been interested in politics, education, languages and cultures.
Throughout her life, she has worked as a part-time professor, an interpreter, a post-secondary programs manager, the director of recruitment and partnership at Contact North, and now as a city councillor and the employment and settlement manager at Collège Boréal.
In addition to being fluent in English and French, Boileau can speak Spanish.
“In terms of working and engaging with the francophone population, it’s important to provide access to education, training and services in French as well because we have such an important francophone community here, with the historical roots,” she says.
“Some of the work I’m trying to do is also bringing awareness to the fact that we have the francophone community here that can really open doors for Timmins and people living in Timmins and the region. We can broaden our horizons when we think about economic opportunities that French speakers can bring to the community.”
After graduating from university, she lived and worked in Guatemala for eight months where she taught at a school run by a non-governmental organization and established the resource centre at an elementary school.
Living there wasn’t always positive, she says, because Canadians were associated with the mining activities in Guatemala.
“A lot of people don’t realize, they think when you’re abroad and you say you’re Canadian, everybody loves you. I remember being caught off-guard by the reaction from some people,” she says. “I was also taken aback by the similarities and realities of the Indigenous people in Guatemala and how there’s a similar lived experience throughout America, being marginalized groups with colonization.”
Having that knowledge and experience inspired Boileau to engage with the local community and try to do some positive work in her hometown.
Once she came back to Timmins and saw the potential here, she says she decided to get involved with municipal politics. Being a city councillor and working with various community boards and committees has been a rewarding experience for Boileau.
“We have something special here. I thought if I was going to be here and work here, I should try to be a part of the positive change that we could see here,” she says. “Just seeing all the great work that people are doing, there are very impressive people working very hard to make Timmins a great place to live for everybody.”
She says she likes to know what’s going on in the community and be able to contribute her ideas and suggestions.
When Collège Boréal’s humanitarian project got launched in 2018, she was happy to be a part of the inaugural group that headed to Guatemala to build three concrete homes. Although she left Boreal to work at Contact North after, she was happy to see the project going.
“When I saw the second group the following year, it was bittersweet. I was sad I couldn’t be with them but I was happy to see the project was continuing and continued until COVID happened,” she says.
When she returned to Guatemala with the humanitarian team, it was fun and exciting to show her colleagues, students and staff the place where she used to live.
“But I was surprised at how little it has changed in the time I was away. And I remember thinking I was really excited for the group to have this experience. I remember thinking it wouldn’t impact me as much as the rest of the group, as I had already been and had that change in me,” she recalls.
“I still had taken a lot out of the experience and it had a lot to do with seeing the impact it had on the group and changes it had on some of the staff. That was really special for me.”
Boileau says she’s been fortunate to live and work in Timmins.
"One opportunity has led to another, I have a feeling it just keeps happening,” she says. “I’m going to take it one day at a time. I’m really happy with my family, my new daughter. I’d love to continue working so closely with the community, especially on the political side of things. I think it's important work to be done and I feel I can do it.”
"It's not for everybody but I really enjoy it, so I think it's something I'll continue to do."
