La Ronde is like being part of a big family, says president

Ernest Plante says he had two goals in his life.

The first goal was to be a supervisor or a manager in a mechanical shop, and another was to become a teacher in the mechanical field.

Plante has already achieved both goals.

Throughout his career, he has worn many hats, working in the automotive industry, at the mine and as a teacher.

“All that good information, skills and experience that I gained working in different places, I think it’s an asset for me as a teacher today,” he says. “There’s a lot of work experience I’m able to share with the students.”

Born and raised on a dairy farm near New Liskeard, Plante, 49, says he was passionate about farming but he also had an interest in mechanical field.

“I needed to be around the cows, the farm equipment, machineries and real tools. I was known to take tools, engines, components apart just to see how it was built and how it works,” he says. “Maintaining and repairing the farm machineries and equipment with my dad was always fun.”

After his parents sold the farm, he decided to become a certified A mechanic. He started his automobile and truck and coach apprenticeship at Railway Garage service station and completed his apprenticeship program at Wilson Chevrolet.

Plante studied at Sault College and in 2011, he also obtained a professional certification in maintenance management from Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada.

In pursuit of a better-secured life and full-time employment, Plante and his wife moved to Timmins in 1994 which ended up being a “good move,” he says.

He started working at Bupont Motors, while his wife got a job at the French separate school board, now called Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes Rivières.

“When we moved to Timmins, we knew we could fit in as we knew a great part of the population was francophone or has French roots,” Plante says.

Having worked in the automotive industry, Plante wanted a change and new challenges, so in 1996 he joined the Porcupine Joint Venture/Placer Dome where he held various positions like a mechanic for the open pit division, mechanic for the light vehicle shop, interim mobile asset maintenance planner and acting supervisory roles.

In 2009, he started working for the City of Timmins as a fleet maintenance planner and then became a fleet maintenance manager. He worked there until he joined Collège Boréal in 2018.

Plante is now a full-time professor and co-ordinator for the truck and coach technician program at the college. This program attracts many students not only from the surrounding communities but from Ottawa as well, he says, and there is also interest from international students and francophone students from countries such as South Africa.

“As the coordinator, I make sure the program curriculum meets todays demands in the industry, it meets the requirement from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities in Ontario, provide support to the students, recruit students and mostly promote this new program with the trucking industries,” Plante says. “The francophone students are proud to study in a French environment, but we also prepare the students to work in a bilingual environment.”

Plante was also one of the staff members who joined students from College Boreal on a humanitarian trip in Guatemala in 2019. During their 10-day stay, organized in partnership with The God’s Child Project, they helped build three concrete block houses for poor families. The experience was eye-opening for him, he says.

“We’re spoiled here in Canada. And going over there, you realize they’re really living poor. It’s a totally different culture," he says.

Plante is married to his high school sweetheart and has two sons who both attended French schools. His wife has also been teaching in French schools for more than 28 years. The family always take parts in events to stay connected with their culture, he says.

“Even if there are French cultural events here in Timmins or in the surrounding areas, we often take trips to our neighbour province of Québec. For many years we had a membership at the Théatre du cuivre in Rouyn-Noranda to see many of the events they had to offer,” Plante says. “There are more francophone people standing to their grounds. I find that we’re able to push back whenever we feel the need to promote our rights, our culture.”

The family has been members of the Centre Culturel la Ronde for more than 20 years and both of his sons were a part of the Danson La Ronde. Plante joined the organization's administration board in 2017 and has been president for the past two years.

“I was up to new challenges and it is a good way to promote and to devote my time to the French culture,” he says. “Being part of the Centre Culturel La Ronde is like being part of a big family, not only do we promote our activities within our memberships, but we also create partnerships with all other French organizations, both French school boards, College Boréal and l’Université de Hearst. We also work closely with l’Alliance de la francophonie de Timmins and Centre de santé communautaire de Timmins.”

Looking back, he says he’s grateful to have been always employed and to have had a great family life.

If he could give advice to young people, he would tell them not to be scared.

“Set some goals, stick to the goals and work for them. You can’t just wait until people grab you by the hand to do the work, you need to be motivated and look positively in the right direction.”