Chiefs’ Laurent Duvernay-Tardif honored as ‘an authentic Quebec hero’ in Canada
Chiefs offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif returned to the Canadian province of Quebec as a conquering hero.
Duvernay-Tardif, who was born in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, was back in the province on Tuesday to be honored by the province’s national assembly. François Paradis, the President of the National Assembly of Quebec, presented the Medal of Honor to Duvernay-Tardif on Tuesday afternoon in Quebec City.
The national assembly’s website wrote (as translated by Google): “Remember that on February 2, 2020, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the Kansas City Chiefs participated in the National Football League’s final game, abbreviated by his acronym NFL, and won the 54th (LIV) Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers by the mark of 31 to 20. He is the first Quebecer to win this great championship and to lift the Vince-Lombardi trophy.”
Paradis tweeted some photos from the ceremony and wrote (as translated by Google): “A privilege to have presented this evening, on behalf of all parliamentarians, the Medal of Honor of the National Assembly of Quebec to Mr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif!”
“People just can’t wait to meet an authentic Quebec hero,” Pascal Bérubé of the national assembly said, per Radio Canada. “You are the one who took up his challenges, achieved his goals with determination and dignity.”
The Radio Canada story quoted Duvernay Tardif as saying: “I am proud to represent you, to represent Quebec, I am extremely honored, it is very touching.”
Duvernay-Tardif, who in 2018 graduated from McGill University in Montreal and earned a medical doctorate, also took part in a blood drive on Tuesday.
Radio Canada reported Duvernay-Tardif was at Peps of Laval University in Quebec City on Tuesday morning where he donated at the event. His appearance drew others to the blood drive.
“We decided to come with the Laurent Duvernay-Tardif collection to reach 300 donations,” Anne-Julie Bouchard, who made her first blood donation, told Radio Canada. “He’s a champion, we’re glad to be able to see him.”
On Monday, Duvernay-Tardif visited Pionniers High School in Trois-Rivières in Quebec along with “humanitarian clown Guillaume Vermette,” according to le Nouvelliste.
“It was a surprise to them and we couldn’t talk about it at all, but it was a great success,” Mélanie Chandonnet, Director General of the Regional Table of Education of Mauricie, told le Nouvelliste. “There were exchanges between Guillaume Vermette and him, then exchanges with the young people. It was fantastic.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 12:22 PM.
