By Aedan Helmer
Ottawa Sun
OTTAWA, Ontario — A chorus of sirens blared in unison outside Saint Francois-de-Sales church in Gatineau, as paramedics stood shoulder to shoulder to bid a final farewell to one of their own.
More than 350 of Marie-Lou Dubois’ brethren packed church pews in a solemn ceremony for the fallen 29-year-old Gatineau paramedic on the same day police arrested the person they believe is responsible for her death.
Police apprehended a 15-year-old Maniwaki boy, accused of driving the stolen Ford Fusion that drifted over the centre line of Hwy. 105, plowing head-on into Dubois’ car as she was on her way to work on Aug. 2. The boy then fled into nearby woods as Dubois lay dying.
News of his capture did little to comfort grief-stricken mourners yesterday.
“Today we are only thinking about the funeral and about Marie-Lou,” said Marc Paquette, director of the Outaouais Paramedic Service. “Tomorrow we’ll think about the person who was arrested.”
Paramedics who responded to the emergency call, only to discover it was one of their own, were immediately offered grief counselling.
“When you arrive on the scene to see one of your partners, it’s very painful,” said Paquette. “It’s a big loss for us.”
Dubois, a recent graduate of La Cite Collegiale who did much of her on-road training with Ottawa paramedics, was remembered for her “ear-to-ear smile” and “infectious laugh.”
“Each day she would come trying to do better than the day before. This is a tough job,” said Stephanie Mills, speaking on behalf of Dubois’ college instructors.
“Marie-Lou would have been proud to see so many paramedics — ones she never knew next to her closest friends. She would have been proud and humbled.”
Paramedics from Gatineau, Montreal, Renfrew, Prescott-Russell and Ottawa displayed their grief in solidarity, wearing black bands on their left arms and white daisies, signifying innocence and purity, pinned over their hearts.
SHOW OF UNITY
The church setting, at the confluence of the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers, was symbolic of that unity.
“We all do the same job, whether it’s on the Quebec side or the Ontario side,” said Paquette.
Ottawa Deputy Chief Mike Newell said the motor vehicle collision that claimed Dubois’ life has become an all-too-common refrain among her colleagues.
“Most people don’t realize that being a paramedic is actually a very dangerous job. But when something happens to someone in our profession, the whole country knows about it.”
Dubois was only on the job for two months when she was killed, but the lasting impression she left on her co-workers was evident by the outpouring of emotion within the century-old church.
“Being a paramedic is not just a job,” Padre Marcel Lahaie told mourners near the end of the two-hour service. “It’s a mission. It’s a passion.”
Paquette, his voice cracking with emotion, said Dubois would be remembered “like a sister.”
“She was a young girl with a lot of future left ahead of her,” he said.
“The service was simple, very human, very sensitive. That’s what a paramedic is. We made her funeral to reflect what it is to be a paramedic.”