Death of the ex-minister Choquette

File Photo, Michael Nguyen
Jérôme Choquette has been a member of the Quebec bar for 63 years.

Camille Garnier

Saturday, 2 September 2017, 08:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 2 September 2017, 08:00

Look at this article

The former Justice minister and mayor of Outremont, Jérôme Choquette, passed away Friday morning, a result of pneumonia at the age of 89 years.

The politician and the lawyer will remain, in particular rooted in the collective memory of québec as one of the major players in the October crisis, in 1970.

File Photo, Albert Vincent

As minister of Justice, Mr. Choquette was one of the main players in the October crisis between the government and the FLQ. He is seen here during a press conference in the fall of 1970.

Minister of Justice at the time, Jérôme Choquette, was part of the government of Robert Bourassa, who has approved the use of the Act on the measures of war and arrested 300 people. This measure was a response, disproportionate, according to some, the attacks and kidnappings by the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ).

Misunderstanding

“The political history of my father is a misunderstanding,” says Frédéric Choquette, one of the four children of the former minister. The crisis of 1970 he has pasted the label of a hard man, even of the extreme right, while he was someone who was sensitive, who has always sought to defend the little people. “

As a minister, Jérôme Choquette, was at the origin of many progressive reforms such as the adoption of the Charter of rights and freedoms, the establishment of legal aid and the creation of the small claims Court.

Renowned for its harshness and rigor, the brilliant lawyer would eventually leave the government and the liberal Party to sit as independent member in September 1975. He will justify this sudden departure by the disagreement between Robert Bourassa on the Law on the official language. Jérôme Choquette wanted to change it for that school French becomes the rule for all, with the exception of the children of English mother tongue.

Principles

Subsequently, Jérôme Choquette based without great success, a political formation right-centre, the people’s national Party. After a meager score of 1 % in the general election of 1976, he joined the ranks of the liberal Party in 1978.

File Photo, Raymond Bouchard

The defeat of Jérôme Choquette against Pierre Bourque (right in front) in the race for mayor of Montreal in 1994 will be the last event in his political career. The two men had confronted each other in a debate program hosted by Jean Lapierre and Jean Cournoyer (to the rear).

“It was more of a man of principles and ideas as an organizer, it is probably for this reason that his party has not worked,” says her cousin Renée Lescop, who remembers a character’s erudite and impressive, but also very emotional.

Jérôme Choquette will also be the mayor of the city of Outremont from 1983 to 1991.

His candidature for the post of mayor of Montreal and its defeat in the municipal election of 1994 against Pierre Bourque have marked the end of his political career.

“In the past few years, it was completely disconnected from the political life, says Frédéric Choquette. He deplored the spectacle that it had become and found that the current leaders do not focus enough on the public good. “