[originally posted in French] - Benjamin

How many times have I sat in the window of the café across the street, enjoying my beverage but just as much the view of the bell tower of the Hôtel de ville? As a newcomer to Manitoba, 219 Blvd Provencher will always be a symbol of my integration and therefore of my belonging to the French-speaking community. When I arrived in 2014, the building housed the WTC offices. While I had the chance to appreciate its architectural aesthetics when I first discovered the French-speaking neighbourhood, I was also able to immediately connect it to my personal history, as I regularly used the WTC's French-speaking services to help me integrate. The first Francophones I met there partly determined my relationship with Manitoba's Francophonie and my pride in belonging to it.

The cultural identity of this building is also very strong thanks to its Maison des artistes. The many projects and activities within its walls and garden have created memories that I cultivate as I share them with my family, my community and the circle of friends I've made since then.

Through their architectural characteristics, 219 Provencher Boulevard and 212 Dumoulin Street dominate the landscape of St Boniface, jewels of the Manitoba’ Francophonie. A culture is alive through the links it can forge between its past and its present. That's why it's so important to preserve this heritage while allowing Riel's heirs to reinvent themselves, a process that's essential if we're to project ourselves into the future, as the Francophone community has always done since it first settled in the Red River Valley.