Senator Rose-May Poirier

Mr. Christian "Kit" Goguen

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I recently had the pleasure of visiting a young man from my home region, Christian "Kit" Goguen.

Christian Goguen began his musical career by winning honours at the Gala de la chanson de Caraquet in 2003. After this impressive start, this young singer-songwriter, who has released two albums, joined the group Ode à l'Acadie, which toured the world.

From there, Christian was recruited by Cirque du Soleil, which is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary next year, and began a new phase in his musical career in Russia and Europe with the show Corteo. Christian shared the role of the main character in this imaginary procession. The show was put on more than 400 times in 2011 alone. He continued his adventure in New York City at Radio City Music Hall for a few months and finally ended up in Las Vegas, where he is currently performing night after night.

I finally had the pleasure of seeing Cirque du Soleil's new production, Zarkana, starring Kit, who shares the main role of the ringmaster who must breathe new life into an abandoned circus. Kit is excellent in his role and he directs the acrobats, clowns, jugglers and trapezists. After one and a half hours of frantic activity and world-class performances, the circus comes back to life for an extraordinary finale, all under the direction of Christian Goguen, a young man from St-Charles-de-Kent, in my area.

I had dinner with Kit and his wife one evening, and he shared with me his experience in our school system. Kit has Tourette Syndrome, which, in his case, manifests itself through tics. The tics become less pronounced with age. When he was young, Kit was bullied because of

something that he could not change or control. Music was his friend in those painful times. On stage, like a ringmaster, he was able to overcome the bullying.

Although he has moved far away, Kit regularly visits his community and does not hesitate to give presentations to schools about bullying. By sharing his story, he helps bolster the confidence of young people who are bullied, as he was, and he shows them that he has nevertheless fulfilled his dreams.

Kit is writing a book about his experience in order to help those who are bullied and to give hope to our young people who are speaking out against bullying. He also continues to write music with his wife, who is a violinist.

I would like to take this opportunity to tip my hat to Kit Goguen, who will surely continue to impress us. Bullying is currently a major challenge for our young people. Kit is an inspiration for young Canadians, showing them that even if they are bullied, they must never give up on their dreams.

Once again, congratulations, Kit, on being an ambassador for our community.