Quebec lottery winner donates $7M to autism foundation
Posted April 25, 2023 6:26 pm.
Last Updated April 25, 2023 6:27 pm.
You could say seven is Marcel Lussier’s lucky number.
The 77-year-old won a $70 million Lotto Max jackpot on June 7, 2022.
The former Bloc member and retired Hydro-Québec engineer then chose to donate 10 per cent of his winnings – or $7 million.
Lussier signed the cheque to the Véro and Louis Foundation, which promotes a safe environment for young adults with autism.
The lottery winner is personally connected to the cause as he has a family member with autism.
“I am interested in everything that is published on autism, I educate myself, I study the phenomenon and I also decided to support the cause,” said Lussier.
Lussier, who represented the Bloc for Brossard-La Prairie from 2006 to 2008, says the donation and its repercussions carry more weight than his three years of political involvement.
“Even though we were an opposition party, we influenced some major decisions, but I think the impact of the donation will be greater,” he said.
Lussier says there’s a big need because of the cessation of public services once autistic people reach adulthood.
“The need in the field of autism is so great that I hope the donation I am making will encourage other people to invest or give to this organization because after 18 years, these grown-up children fall into an empty hole,” he said.
On the heels of the donation, the Véro and Louis Foundation announced it was creating two new permanent homes adapted for autistic adults aged 21 and over, with or without intellectual disabilities.
The homes will be in Mauricie-Central Quebec and the Laurentians.
—With notes from La Presse Canadienne
