We said that it was an error made by a young person 19 years old. We always said that it was an error. The deputy Prime Minister never said that it was not an error.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
We said that it was an error made by a young person 19 years old. We always said that it was an error. The deputy Prime Minister never said that it was not an error.
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, nobody at all defended that. In fact, I said that it was an error, and Mr. Roux himself said that it was an error which he regretted.
Nobody said that it was a defensible thing. What the leader of the-temporary leader, I guess, we do not see the leader very often-
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that this was a routine investigation, and no one ever brought anything to my attention that might have prevented Jean-Louis Roux's appointment as a member of the Senate of Canada.
We spoke, yesterday evening. I did not raise this matter since I knew nothing about it. He informed me of the facts now in the public domain, that I shared with the House a moment ago. This morning, he voluntarily tendered his resignation.
Yesterday, the Minister of Canadian Heritage defended Mr. Roux, whom I believe she described as an honourable man. Other ministers did the same during media scrums and I stand by that position. He made a deliberate choice to put an end to the controversy and to resign; we did not ask for his resignation.
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, I am always apprised of the findings of security investigations and, like the others, this one turned up nothing. I based my decision to appoint Senator Roux on what I knew at the time and, as
everyone knows, I just listed a few of the many things he has accomplished in Quebec society over the past 50 years.
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
I offered him a seat as an independent. And, if we need to go poking into everyone's lives, could the Leader of the Opposition tell me why people like Camille Laurin and Denis Lazure were in Mr. Lévesque's cabinet, when they had defended Count Jacques de Bernonville, the right hand man to Klaus Barbie in Europe?
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, when I invited Jean-Louis Roux to become a Senator, I did not even know he was a Liberal. Even when I invited him to the Senate, I said to him: "I do not know if you are a member of my party. If you want to sit-"
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Roux has always spoken of that time in lectures and radio or television discussions. He has taken part in public discussions on radio and television explaining how Quebec society has evolved from the thirties to the present.
He himself stated on one such program that he had made the mistake of putting a swastika on his lab coat during his student days, at the age of 19, and that he regretted this. He has stated publicly that he regretted this enormously. He has also said it to me personally. This was public, and not a question of a criminal act.
When we investigate people to whom we are offering positions, we do not go looking into the darkest recesses of their personal lives, we look at their record of honour as a citizen, and whether they have a criminal record. In my opinion, Jean-Louis Roux had an impeccable record, except that he had committed one error at the age of 19 years while at the Université de Montréal.
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, pardon me, but I rarely take advantage of the House, and I am going to continue.
This is a most honourable man. Are there two standards in our society? He was a federalist as well. I trust that some of those who have written things about him today will have the courage to look up what was written in Le Devoir during the 1930s and 1940s.
Jean-Louis Roux November 5th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, I have accepted the resignation of Jean-Louis Roux as lieutenant-governor of Quebec with enormous regret.
Jean-Louis Roux is one of the most honourable men in Quebec. He has enjoyed an exceptional career in our province. He was involved in all manner of causes for the defence of human rights and freedoms in this society.
I would ask the indulgence of the Chair to demonstrate how this man has participated in the advancement of human rights and freedoms in Quebec. As early as 1947, he was involved in opposing censorship in the Les enfants du Paradis affair. He was involved in Radio-Canada's strike over the right to unionize. In 1965, he fought class legislation concerning authors. He was even opposed to the War Measures Act in 1970. He fought for freedom of expression during the controversy over the play Les fées ont soif in 1978.
Way back in the 1950s he was one of the founders of Cité Libre , in opposition to the regime of the day. He was a member of Artistes pour la paix, Amnesty International, and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal, which helped people involved in tracing war criminals.
Such was the career of this man, Jean-louis Roux, one of the greatest artists Quebec has ever known. Unfortunately, he made one mistake-
Ethics October 31st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, days before the form was signed, the Secretary of State indicated that some elements of the expenditures were personal. The expenses were accounted for the same day. When she signed the document she attached a cheque to reimburse her personal expenses.