Yann Martel out that he could not have stolen from a work he had not at the time read, and he willingly acknowledged being influenced by the New York Times review of Scliar's work and thanked him in the Author's Note of Life of Pi. "Life of Pi" was later chosen for the 2003 edition of CBC Radio's "Canada Reads" competition, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee. In addition, its French translation, "Histoire de Pi", was included in the French version of the competition, "Le combat des livres", in 2004, championed by singer Louise Forestier. Martel was the Samuel Fischer
Richard Martel Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year. On February 28, 2010, Martel became the winningest coach in the history of the QMJHL when he coached the Chicoutimi Saguenéens to a 3-1 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to win his 570th QMJHL game, surpassing previous record held by Guy Chouinard. Source: On December 20, 2017, Martel was named the Conservative candidate for an upcoming by-election in the federal electoral district of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. Martel had previously been courted to run for mayor of Saguenay as well as the National Assembly of Quebec. Martel was elected as a Member