Mattawa Broken Dreams
Memoirs of a New Ontario Country Doctor
by Benoît Cazabon

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In 1889, Dr. Sylvain de Caseneuve arrives in New Ontario, a region recently opened to settlers, many of whom are French-Canadians. Swept up by the spirit of Mattawa's thriving community, his many endeavours to offer physical and moral care are thwarted by commercial interests and complacent government officials.  Reviewing his diary, diligently kept over 29 years, de Caseneuve relives his tumultuous love affair and eventual marriage to Jasmine Fife, with whom he has a son, Maxence.   Simmering hostilities, rooted in conflicting English and French priorities, lead him to worry about Maxence’s future and what lies ahead for his compatriots, whose cultural survival is threatened by Ottawa's priorities. Such trials ultimately lead to the failure of his marriage and a sense of alienation that compel him to leave Mattawa and to return to his homeland, alone and broken. His hopes are rekindled as he bonds with his undergraduate son whose resolve to seek a better future for his people redeems his father's vision.

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Benoît Cazabon is an influential linguist in Ontario. He has played a significant role in the linguistic and academic landscape of French Ontario. Serving as a professor at Ontario universities in Sudbury, Toronto, and Ottawa from 1973 to 2009, he has influenced generations of students and scholars. In 1978, he co-founded the Institut franco-ontarien and served as its director for four years. Additionally, he established and directed the Official Languages Centre at Laurentian University. His commitment to research continued as he founded and directed the Centre de recherche en éducation du Nouvel-Ontario at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education between 1989 and 1990. Cazabon’s academic interests are particularly focused on semiotics and hermeneutics, symbolic representations, identity and belonging, rational thought, and ideologies. His scholarly achievements include authoring over 25 independent publications and contributing a hundred peer-reviewed articles, reflecting his dedication to advancing knowledge in these fields. Beyond his academic pursuits, Benoît Cazabon’s entrepreneurial and administrative experiences have highlighted his strengths in leadership, strategic planning, and human relations. He values shared vision of higher significance, creative projects that foster lasting change, and meaningful human connections. He became a certified coach with New Ventures West in California (2012).

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Contributors

Author

Benoît Cazabon

Translator

Louis Chenard

Illustrator

Olivier Lasser

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