AGQ-F0187
Administrative history:
In April 1978, on his return from a trip to New York to attend the 2nd Congress of the National Rainbow Society of the Deaf (renamed the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf in 1982), Michel Turgeon (who is deaf) had the idea of setting up an association to bring together, in a social club, deaf people, those who had become deaf and the hard of hearing, who were also ‘homosexual’ (to use the term of the time).
The Association des bonnes gens sourds (ABGS) was founded on 11 May 1979. It received its letters patent on 4 January 1980. This name was chosen so as not to reveal its true purpose, as homosexuality remained a taboo within the deaf community at the time. The association’s objectives are: to bring deaf people together in a social club (social and recreational activities); to promote their interests and defend their rights; and to provide information to its members. The co-founders and provisional directors are: Michel Turgeon, Walter W. Wile, the late Raymond Richer, Serge Martel and the late Marius Latulippe.
In June 1984, the ABGS hosted the 8th Congress of the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf (RAD) at the Sheraton Mont-Royal Hotel. The 14th and 23rd Congresses were again organized by the association, in July 1995 and August 2013 respectively.
To mark the 20th anniversary of its founding in September 1999, the association’s name was changed to the “Association des gais et lesbiennes sourds” (AGLS) to better reflect its members’ openness and pride in their identity. This change was formalized by a notice of change of name on 2 April 2003. Subsequently, wishing to be more open to LGBTQ+ diversity, the members voted, at an extraordinary general meeting held in November 2014, for a new name: Diversité Sourds du Québec (DSQ). The unveiling of this new name took place during the “Brunch de rubis” event in December 2014, held to mark the association’s 35th anniversary. Supplementary letters patent dated 5 May 2016 confirmed this name change.
However, in the eyes of its members, the association no longer serves a purpose given the ongoing progress in the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, the lack of new members to join the board of directors and keep the association running led the members to vote, at the extraordinary general meeting convened on 14 October 2018, to dissolve DSQ. On 10 May 2019, a deed of dissolution was filed with the Companies Register, confirming the end of DSQ’s legal existence from that date.
As AIDS began to emerge in the early 1980s, the 8th RAD Congress focused on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Then, in June 1986, the ABGS set up a committee (later named the Comité sida de la communauté des personnes sourdes de Montréal, then renamed the Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec in collaboration with the ABGS in 1989). This committee’s mandate was to organize an information day on STIs, hepatitis B and AIDS to inform the deaf community about the epidemic and educate them on the prevention methods available at the time, all in their Quebec Sign Language (LSQ). This event took place on 15 November 1986, attended by over 400 deaf and hard-of-hearing people, with the support of healthcare professionals and interpreters. Michel Turgeon hosted the event, and Ken Morrison from the Comité Sida Aide Montréal (CSAM) took part. Subsequently, the Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec, in collaboration with the ABGS, secured funding to hold another information day dedicated solely to AIDS, which took place on 18 November 1989.
In July 1991, a prevention committee was formed within the ABGS to organize and deliver AIDS prevention talks across Quebec to deaf and hard-of-hearing young people and adults, reaching out to them in schools or at community gatherings. This committee was known as the “Association des Bonnes Gens Sourds Inc. in collaboration with the Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec” (July 1991–June 1992). The committee’s office was located in Michel Turgeon’s flat (until he moved to 3600 Rue Hôtel-de-Ville in 1994). The committee received funding for the “Briser le mur du silence” project, the aims of which were to conduct surveys on AIDS awareness within the deaf community and on information needs regarding AIDS, as well as to produce a video in LSQ entitled “Le sida frappe aussi les Sourds” in collaboration with the Quebec Centre for Hearing Impairment and Télé-Concept Montréal. Furthermore, in March 1991, the committee received a grant for the project “Le sida et la communauté sourde du Québec”, the objective of which was to organize regional symposia on AIDS prevention within the deaf community (1991–1993).
Finally, on 30 April 1992, Michel Turgeon founded the Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec (CSSQ), a community organization separate from the ABGS, with the aim of providing prevention and support services to deaf people living with HIV/AIDS. On 2 July 1992, the CSSQ was incorporated upon receiving its letters patent. Consequently, the projects and finances of the prevention committee operating under the ABGS were transferred to the new corporation. (In May 2020, the CSSQ changed its name to the “Réseau de la santé sexuelle des Sourds du Québec”.)
Scope and content:
The fonds documents the association’s activities: social events, workshops, Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf conferences, AIDS awareness talks and celebrations marking the organization’s anniversary.
The fonds contains articles of association, annual returns (1980–2017), logos, general regulations (including revised versions), minutes of general meetings and board meetings (1979–2018), financial reports (1979–2018), annual reports (2004–2018), membership application and renewal forms, a few copies of the newsletter ‘Info-Gai Sourd’, as well as documents relating to social activities, Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf conferences and celebrations marking the organization’s anniversary. The fonds also contains documents relating to AIDS awareness days and AIDS prevention activities. In addition, the fonds contains a series of 16 photographs of gay establishments, mostly located in the old village, taken in 1984.
The fonds contains the following series:
- AGQ-F0187/S1. Gestion administrative
- AGQ-F0187/S2. Assemblées statutaires
- AGQ-F0187/S3. Membres
- AGQ-F0187/S4. Activités sociales et ateliers
- AGQ-F0187/S5. Célébrations d’anniversaire de la fondation
- AGQ-F0187/S6. Congrès de la Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf
- AGQ-F0187/S7. Comité sida (Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec)
- AGQ-F0187/S8. Documents photographiques
- AGQ-F0187/S9. Documents vidéo
- AGQ-F0187/S10. Trophées (plaques murales)
Notes:
Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds. Although the legal name of the organization has been changed twice during its existence, the original name, Association des bonnes gens sourds (ABGS), has been chosen for the fonds.
Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was donated to the AGQ in 2018 by Diversité Sourds du Québec (acquisition 2018-040). The documents of the AIDS committee (Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec) were transferred to the AGQ in 2018 by the Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec (acquisition 2018-041). A few additional documents from the AIDS committee (Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec) were transferred to the AGQ by the Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec in 2019 (acquisition 2019-015).
Parallel titles and other title information: According to records held by the Registraire des entreprises du Québec, the legal name of the incorporated body has been as follows: Association des bonnes gens sourds, from 4 January 1980 to 2 April 2003; Association des gais et lesbiennes sourds, from 2 April 2003 to 5 May 2016; Diversité Sourds du Québec, 5 May 2016 to 10 May 2019.
Physical description: The fonds also contains 176 photographs, 18 DVD box sets, 6 BETA video cassettes, 4 VHS video cassettes, 3 mini DV video cassettes, 6 trophies (wall plaques), 4 small flags, a badge, a conference bag, a small notebook with a pen, and a stainless steel water bottle from the 2013 RAD Congress.
Arrangement: The order of the minutes of general meetings (from 1979 to 1999) and of the board of directors (from 1979 to 2015), filed in their original order, has been retained. The order of directors’ letters of resignation (from 1980–1999), filed in their original order and chronologically from the most recent to the oldest, has been retained. The other documents in the fonds have been reclassified according to functions and activities to facilitate consultation.
Language: Most of the documents are in French, with a few in English. The videos are in Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) and American Sign Language (ASL).
Originals and reproductions: A certified copy of the dissolution deed was requested from the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (June 2019).
Finding aids: Digital inventory of the fonds in Excel format. Classification plan is available in PDF format.
Associated material: The association’s banners are kept at the Société culturelle québécoise des Sourds, located at 2200 Crémazie Boulevard East, Suite 210, Montreal (Quebec), H2E 2Z8.
Related groups of records in different fonds external to the unit being described: The AGQ-F0186 Steve J. Niven fonds held by the AGQ contains a series of 30 photographs relating to the 8th Congress of the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf. The photographs date from June 1984. The AGQ-F0188 Coalition Sida des Sourds du Québec fonds held by the AGQ contains a number of documents relating to the ABGS in collaboration with the CSSQ.
Bibliography:
Atelier sur les gais handicapés, Le Berdache, no. 4, October 1979, p. 7.
La conférence sur le Sida: un succès sur toute la ligne ! Voir Dire, no. 39, January-February 1989, p. 26-27.
Alain Elmaleh et Michel Lelièvre. Gala 20e anniversaire de fondation de l’Association des bonnes gens sourds. Voir Dire, no. 98, November-December 1999, p. 19.
Julie Vaillancourt. Michel Turgeon. Une vie de militantisme. Retrieved from https://www.fugues.com/2019/12/17/michel-turgeon-une-vie-de-militantisme/
Michel Turgeon. Mot du premier président-fondateur de l’Association des bonnes gens sourds (speech delivered at the event marking the 25th anniversary of the foundation), October 2004.
Richard Charron. Entrevue avec Michel Turgeon. Voir Dire, no. 19, September-October 1986, p. 20-21.
Richard Charron. La conférence sur les M.T.S. et le Sida: un succès sur toute la ligne. Voir Dire, no. 21, January-February 1987, p. 8-9.
Sylvain Gélinas et Émilie B. Levesque. Brunch de rubis pour le 35e anniversaire de l’Association des gais et lesbiennes sourds. Voir Dire, no. 189, January-February 2015, p. 7.
William Cleary. 25e anniversaire de l’Association des gais et lesbiennes sourds. Voir Dire, no. 128, November-December 2004, p. 14-15.
William Cleary, 30e anniversaire de l’AGLS. Voir Dire, no. 158, November-December 2009, p. 8.
Yvon Mantha et Michel Lelièvre. Gala du 10e Anniversaire de fondation de l’Association des Bonnes Gens Sourds, Inc., Voir Dire, no. 41, May-June 1990, p. 14-15.
Dernière modification : 2026-03-25