Pierre Laporte

Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician who was the Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and assassinated by members of the group Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October Crisis. Laporte's body was found in the trunk of Paul Rose's car.

Life and career

Pierre Laporte bridge

Pierre Laporte was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was a journalist with Le Devoir newspaper from 1945 to 1961, and was known for his crusading work against the government of Quebec's then-Premier Maurice Duplessis. During his years in journalism, published a number of series targeting the management of the Duplessis government. In 1954, Le Devoir ran a six-part series on problems during the construction of the Bersimis-1 generating station.^[1] In 1958, he was part of a team of Le Devoir reporters unveiling the natural gas scandal,^[2] leading to the formation of the Salvas Commission, soon after the election of 1960.

After Duplessis' death Laporte successfully ran for a seat in Chambly in the Quebec National Assembly and served in the government of Premier Jean Lesage. Laporte was a member of the Quebec Liberal Party, and considered to be a leading member of the party's left wing. After Lesage announced in 1969 that he would step down as party leader, Laporte ran to succeed him, but lost the 1970 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election to fellow cabinet member Robert Bourassa.

When Bourassa was elected Premier of Quebec in 1970, he appointed Laporte as his Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour.

Kidnapping

On 10 October 1970, Laporte was kidnapped from his home on Robitaille Street^[3][4] in Saint-Lambert, Quebec by the Chénier Cell of the FLQ.^[5] They dubbed him the "Minister of Unemployment and Assimilation," and held him hostage in an anti-government protest because his kidnappers wanted "political prisoners" to be freed.

Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau invoked Canada's War Measures Act which allowed mass raids and arrests to take place in order to find Laporte's kidnappers. Trudeau said:

• "Nothing that either the Government of Canada or the Government of Quebec has done or failed to do, now or in the future, could possibly excuse any injury to either of these two innocent men. The gun pointed at their heads have FLQ fingers on the trigger. Should any injury result, there is no explanation that could condone the act. Should there be harm done to these men, the Government promises unceasing pursuit of those responsible."^[6] (Trudeau's use of the word "men" referred to Laporte and James Cross, a British diplomat who was kidnapped on October 5 and eventually released on December 3.)

On October 17, just seven days after he went missing, Laporte's body was found. His kidnappers were subsequently captured and sentenced to long prison terms for his murder, but only served terms ranging from 7 to 11 years.^{[citation needed]}

Pierre Laporte was buried in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.

2010 Dispute

Radio-Canada, the French-language service of the bilingual Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, revealed on 24 September 2010 that the killing of Pierre Laporte was allegedly unintentional.^[7]

The revelation also explains certain confusing details about the case, such as the pillow found with Mr. Laporte's body in the automobile. It had been intended to provide a headrest during his live transport to a new location. His death made both intentions redundant.

Criticism has arisen however, that this story is extremely unlikely due to the fact that when the FLQ murdered him, their communique announced they had executed him. He had been strangled with extreme amounts of force.^[8]

References

External links

• BBC On this day October 10, 1970, Canadian minister seized by gunmen
• CBC Archives October 11, 1970, Labour minister kidnapped
• École secondaire Pierre-Laporte in Mont-Royal, Quebec
• "Biography" (in French). Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours. National Assembly of Quebec. http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/laporte-pierre-3983/index.html. 
• Pierre Laporte at Find a Grave