Born and raised in Erin, Ontario, he spent much of his life and career living in Sudbury.
[1] He won the Governor General's Award for French language poetry in 2002, for his book Humains paysages en temps de paix relative (ISBN 978-2894231449).
[2] A poem from that collection, "Au nord de notre vie", was set to music by the folk rock group CANO, and came to be adopted as an anthem of Franco-Ontarian culture.
A compilation of his poetry, translated into English by Jo-Anne Elder, was published by Guernica Editions under the title Human Presences and Possible Futures (2013, ISBN 978-1550716665).
[1] "Si je peux poser quelques pierre blanches pour baliser le sentier à inventer, je ne serais que très content, croyant que j'ai ainsi fait quelque chose