The story of our clinic

Our optometry clinic was founded in the spring of
1942 by Dr. Armand Bastien, Optometrist and
graduate of the École d'optométrie (school of optometry) at the Université de Montréal, and the father of the current owner.

Fascinated by his profession from the start, Dr. Armand Bastien joined the Optometric Extension Program, an American optometric association devoted to the ongoing professional development of optometrists. It is there that he became interested in vision therapy. He helped perfect a number of methods, which he subsequently taught at the Université de Montréal’s École d'optométrie.

Corneal (or contact) lenses gained Dr. Armand Bastien's attention in 1956, and he was one of the first to prescribe them in Quebec. He also became interested in the adjustment of scleral corneal lenses using the O'Brigg technique, predecessor (1942) of the lenses currently used to treat keratoconus, the abnormal cone-shaped protrusion of the cornea of the eye.

Clinician, researcher, instructor, speaker and respected author, he helped give Quebec optometry a name in Europe and the United States, and establish the international reputation of our clinic.

Originally, the current location of the clinic was shared between the office and family of Dr. Bastien senior, who practised in the front rooms while the family lived in the back. Dr. Yves Bastien was born in 1949, and in 1954 the family moved, leaving room for the clinic to occupy the entire main floor.

In 1963, a major renovation gave a modern face to the clinic and allowed the expansion of contact lens laboratory services. 

In 1974, Dr. Yves Bastien joined his father’s practice.

Since 1976, the clinic has had its own eyeglass laboratory, offering on-site cutting and mounting.

In 1985, major additions and renovations modernized and expanded the clinic to two floors.

In 1991, Dr. Nathalie Mazur joined the team.

In 2005, a third remodelling saw a return to a warm, family decor more in keeping with the original home.