It is noon. Mass has just ended. On the forecourt of Notre-Dame church, yesterday, many faithful gathered to hear the public auction as it was done in New France times, in 1780. “Oyez, Oyez. Let it be said, good people, Messeigneurs, Gentlemen, it is the Feast of the Snow!" Dressed in the finery of a town crier, the equivalent of the town crier of the governor of New France, Daniel Richer dit Laflèche proclaimed the Fête des neiges. It feels like a retro movie. In front of these people a little astonished to see this character high in neck, wearing his feathered tricorn hat and dressed in his blue mat-embroidered with silver lilies, in his frill (a sort of lace tie), our man, century-old bell in hand, invites this crowd to this winter festival.
Professional actor, Daniel Richer plays his character. with intensity, with the greatest seriousness in the world, aware of the fact that style and politeness are not out of fashion these days, on the contrary. North American public auction champion, he placed fourth out of 90 competitors at the last world competition in England. He also recalls that Canada, with its 200 town criers, represents the second largest contingent in the world of these traditional characters. “As soon as I put on the uniform, I feel a kind of inner joy in me,” explained Daniel Richer, "I love doing this job, but I also play comedy. Being a town crier is the dream of an actor who really lives his character. The Quebec town crier, I add, is a man of the people who is an integral part of the life of this people." At the time, he even announced the indulgences that were sold.
Daniel Richer, originally from Ottawa, is the only full-time town crier in North America. It is a real first job that he has been exercising, by contract, for six years now, traveling across Quebec, Ontario, and all of Canada and even North America for about 300 days a year. It has even happened to him to exercise it for 314 days during the same year. Solicited from everywhere, he admits that he has to refuse a hundred contracts per year. In Ottawa, he works in many embassies. Six years ago, he was asked to announce the guests at a reception at the Russian embassy. He admits that this is one of the times he has been treated the best. “An actor by training, one summer I acted as a town crier for the federal government,” he says. It was after that that I developed the profession of town crier, in addition to writing shows for children. It is a profession that fascinates me. It nevertheless requires a special attitude commanding respect and perfect knowledge of foreign protocol. It requires careful preparation, knowledge of history and above all a good state of mind. It is, I think, the only profession (comparable to that of an ambassador) which passes through all the floors of society, from the most humble to the most eminent. It's always fascinating and yet at the same time difficult, because of the audience, which is always different. ".
On the forecourt of the church, men and women of a certain age come to congratulate him on his performance: “Well done, you were wonderful,” says a middle-aged man. A woman and her two young children are very disappointed to have missed the show. Official crier, from the province of Ontario and the national capital, Daniel Richer, of a Quebec mother and an Ontario father, may; get by in a number of languages. "The crier occupation never lets me stop by the language barrier," he insists, with a certain confidence in his eyes, "I can do it in several languages: French, English, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, it being far the most popular language, he says.
It even happened last summer that he auctioned off in Ojibwa, an Amerindian language of southern Ontario - during an Amerindian festival. For the occasion, he had donned a partly Native American dress with moccasins. “The most difficult,” he explains, “was the accent of this language".
[Much like Iron Eyes Cody (Espera Oscar de Corti ... 100% Italian Hollywood Actor) or "Grey Owl" (Archibald Stansfeld Belaney ... 100% British and a conservationist, fur trapper, and writer who disguised himself as a Native persona), Daniel Richer put on the "costume" and never took it off, dying his hair black and Playing Indigenous for the naive crowds ... perhaps ... it being 'too addictive', the claim, the fame, the status, the $$$$.]
One of his fondest memories was his meeting with Maurice Richard in a shopping center in Scarborough, Ontario, where Maurice Richard had promoted been a cosmetic product. “He's a legend that is known across Canada,” Daniel Richer insisted. In Richer's opinion, "he is one of the rare characters to live up to his legend, I wonder why he is not exploited more.” Moreover, the organizers of the Fête des neiges were delighted yesterday with the number of visitors to the four sites of this winter festival. Thus, oh estimated at around 175,000, the number of Montrealer's who were moved to participate in these cultural and sports activities. It was almost the equivalent of the whole Snow Festival last year. So much so that at 3:00 p.m. the parking lots were full; the access roads to Île Notre-Dame and Île Sainte-Hélène had to be closed. In Île Notre -Dame, the number of visitors was estimated at around 100,000, 10,000 in Maisonneuve Park and 60,000 in Old Montreal and the Old Port. Obviously, the organizers were all the more happy.
December 18, 1992
Daniel Richer, dit Laflèche, the only town crier in Canada, sues the Société immobilière du patrimoine architectural de Montréal for loss of salary and breach of contract
Internationally renowned public CRIER, Daniel Richer dit Laflèche believed that the word given would suffice. At his expense, he discovers that a written contract sometimes prevents many legal remedies. Daniel Richer is suing the Société immobilière du patrimoine architectural de Montréal (SIMPA), responsible for the Museum of Archaeology and History of Pointe-à-Callière, for a sum of $77,000 due to loss of his salaries and non-compliance of contract. From October 1991 to October 1992, his character of town crier was to ensure the promoting the activities of the new museum before it opened in the summer of 1992, says Daniel Richer. Its commitment was the result of an agreement either verbally or "in writing but not yet ratified for administrative reasons," he argues. On behalf of the future museum, Pierre Sarrazin and Line Champoux allegedly offered him this one-year contract on September 30, 1992 during a planning meeting. Enthusiastic, convinced of having a firm contract in his pocket, Mr. Daniel Richer dit Laflèche left Ottawa and moved his home to Rosemère. He even reportedly refused other proposals. “I was offered a role on an American soap opera,” he says. Even if the adventure was enticing, he wanted to honor his commitment with the museum. “I am a man of my word,” he said.
The only professional town crier in Quebec, Mr. Richer has lived on his art for 15 years. He has participated in some 200 activities over the past ten years. He worked in Europe, the United States and the English Canada. "I did everything". Well versed in the intricacies of protocol, he presented international figures at embassy parties. "I introduced Gorbachev," he says proudly. In effect, the museum hired Mr. Richer for a two-month tour of the schools. In fact, in the museum's promotional brochures, there is a photograph of Mr. Richer, dressed in clothes from the time of Louis XIV. “Hear! Hear! He was coureur de bois, postman, courier, town crier. In 1992, "Pointe-à Callière revives this ancient and noble profession", announces the brochure. This is proof that the Pointe-à-Callière Museum had indeed granted him a one-year contract, argues Mr. Daniel Richer. As for the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, they are less categorical. "All that this brochure proves," says museum director Francine Lelièvre, "is that at one point we hit it off."
The director of the Pointe-à-Callière Museum explains that there was indeed a plan to hire a town crier for the summer of 1992. “But we gave up on the idea. His demands were too high”. Three levels of government were involved in the museum project. '' All our costs had to be justified. The town crier project did not appear to be a priority, ”says Lelièvre. Some 150 contracts with a value of 27.5 million have been granted throughout the development of the Pointe-Callière Museum.
"This is the only contract with which, we had problems," said. she. The museum reportedly offered to hire Richer only for the summer of 1992. He declined. The conditions did not suit him. According to the "verbal agreement", Mr. Richer was to receive approximately $ 1,000 per week for one year. According to Ms. Lelièvre, this agreement never but existed in his own mind. “He took his dreams for reality,” she says. Mr. Richer is bitter. Today, 'he is silenced. For lack of funds, he has difficulty reviving his town crier. "This is the first time that I have a contract with francophones. In Ontario, I had never been led astray," he says. The Superior Court is seized of this contract matter. She should hear it shortly."
