Yves Michaud never obtained during his lifetime the apology he expected from the National Assembly. (Archive photo)
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François Legault being still opposed to the National Assembly apologizing to Yves Michaud, the four parties represented in Parliament agreed to at least pay tribute to the ex-MP, diplomat, journalist and activist who passed away last week at the age of 94.
A motion presented by PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was adopted unanimously on Tuesday afternoon. A minute of silence was also observed in his memory.
Originally, the Parti Québécois (PQ) wanted to ask the Assembly to apologize for the motion of censure passed against Yves Michaud in December 2000 due to comments that had been interpreted as anti-Semitic.
The PQ had, however, specified that such an approach would invariably have to receive the approval of the family of the deceased. However, the latter informed Radio-Canada on Friday that due to François Legault's position, she did not wish to relive the humiliation of another failure.
Other motions suggesting that the National Assembly offer an apology to Yves Michaud have been presented in the past. None of them, however, were ever accepted.
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PQ MP Pascal Bérubé explained Tuesday morning that Yves Michaud's family had expressed their preference for a tribute motion which would be adopted unanimously rather than an apology motion which, in all likelihood, would have been blocked by the Coalition Avenir Québec.
Nearly a quarter of a century after the events, the political class remains divided on the way in which Yves's remarks Michaud should have been interpreted.
Many elected officials have since made amends, but not François Legault, who sat at the time as a deputy in the PQ government of Lucien Bouchard. “I live well with my vote,” he reiterated, the day the death of Yves Michaud was announced last week.
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The only other current parliamentarian who sat in the National Assembly in December 2000, Jean-François Simard, recalled in a press scrum on Tuesday that he had apologized to the main person concerned in 2011. The CAQ deputy for Montmorency brought to the time the colors of the PQ.
Questioned about the lack of remorse from his boss, Mr. Simard declared that according to him it was a personal choice, insisting on the fact that 'we [should] not judge the intentions of those who, unlike him, have always refused to apologize.
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MP Jean-François Simard assured Tuesday that the apologies he presented in 2011 by Yves Michaud were accepted by the person concerned . (File photo)
The man who was called the “Robin of the Banks” because of his fight for the defense of small shareholders died peacefully at the Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix residence in the Verdun borough, in Montreal.
He carried for nearly 25 years the after-effects of what he called the scoundrel motion, outraged at having been treated in this way by the National Assembly and never having been able to explain himself to her.
His funeral will take place at the Saint-Joseph-de-Mont-Royal church on April 4 at 11 a.m.
« That the National Assembly pays tribute to Mr. Yves Michaud, Member of Parliament for Gouin from 1966 to 1970, High Commissioner for Cooperation at the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs from 1970 to 1973, Delegate of Quebec to international organizations in 1977, then advisor Prime Minister for International Affairs in 1978 and 1979, General Delegate of Quebec in Paris from 1979 to 1984 and recipient of the National Assembly Medal, for his unwavering commitment to the Quebec nation, the French language and political independence of Quebec;
May it highlight his contribution to the development of Quebec journalism, notably at Clairon maskoutain, where he served as editor-in-chief from 1954 to 1960, director from January 1960 to January 1961 and managing director from January 1961 to May 1966 , at the newspaper La Patrie of which he was editor-in-chief and general director from 1962 to 1966 and at the newspaper Le jour of which he was also the director from 1973 to 1976;
May she recall that he was the recipient of several awards for excellence in journalism, notably those for best reporting in 1957, best French-language weekly newspaper in 1958 and best editorial of the year in 1963 and in 1964;
That she salutes her important contribution to the defense of small savers and shareholders through the founding and presidency of the Association for the Protection of Savers and Investors of Quebec, now known as the Movement for Education and Defense of Shareholders;
May the members of this Assembly observe a minute of silence in his memory. »
