No, and I admit that this would have done me tremendous harm; I'm certain of that. It would have meant open warfare. He would have done everything in his power to discredit me, at a time when I didn't have my record as Minister of Public Safety to hold up as I do now.
I was a criminal lawyer prior to that, but I had an excellent reputation. That's why I was the first criminal lawyer to be elected “bâtonnier” or president of the Quebec Bar. I had a good reputation with the judges, police officers, colleagues and a lot of journalists.
But for the public at large, criminal lawyers are people who associate with gangsters. That's why it would have been my word against his. I never associated with gangsters, but it's quite true that I did not only defend honest people, even though I also defended innocent people who were in great need of my assistance.