«« réparation

Michaud petition a success
Liberals promise to oppose amendment

KEVIN DOUGHERTY
Montreal Gazette Saturday, March 16, 2002


Yves Michaud, who was condemned in a unanimous censure motion of the Quebec National Assembly 15 months ago, has successfully petitioned the assembly to consider a change of its rules that would end such motions against ordinary citizens.

Calling it the "Michaud amendment," Michaud, a PQ warhorse and former Quebec delegate to Paris, said yesterday with the government committed to changing the rules, he does not see how the Quebec Liberals can vote against the change.

"It will end the most painful period in my life," he added, but, "It doesn't repair the the damage that was done to me."

But Liberal House leader Pierre Paradis indicated yesterday his party would oppose the rule change.

PQ called 'crazy'

"I think they (the Parti Québécois government) are crazy," he said. "What's the purpose of bringing that back? Everyone wants to forget about it."

Paradis said if the government goes ahead with proposing the change, he will want to call some "retired politicians," namely former premier Lucien Bouchard and former PQ House leader Jacques Brassard, who spoke against Michaud at the time.

When he resigned as premier in January 2000, Bouchard referred to the remarks by Michaud, who was then seeking the PQ nomination for a by-election in Mercier.

Bouchard said he was resigning in part because he did not want to pursue more discussions on the Holocaust or the "comparative quantification of the sufferings of the Jewish people and the intolerance displayed by some Quebec citizens in not voting for the sovereignty of Quebec."

In December 2000, the assembly approved without debate a motion sponsored jointly by Lawrence Bergman, Liberal MNA for D'Arcy McGee riding, and André Boulerice, PQ MNA for Saint-Jacques, condemning Michaud's "inappropriate words," which were interpreted as trivializing the Holocaust.

Michaud made his comments while presenting a brief to the Larose commission on the French language.