At the end of the 1980s, then a journalist for Sun assigned to the parliamentary gallery, I notably had Michel David as a colleague and the office of the Duty, neighboring ours, was that of Gilles Lesage and Bernard Descôteaux. I was well surrounded, to say the least.
It was a hot period. Our journalistic coverage followed a tortuous path which led to the failure of the Meech Lake agreement in June 1990. On the constitutional issue, as on all the others to which he paid attention, Bernard distinguished himself by the quality and rigor of his work. This did not prevent him, even though he was stationed in Quebec, from being very attentive and — at least I have reason to suspect — committed to finding solutions at a time when The duty was going through an extremely difficult period in its history.
When Lise Bissonnette became director and made Bernard her editor-in-chief, there was no doubt that it was an excellent choice. And when Bernard took over as director a few years later, it happened quite naturally. Although, perhaps because he was not considered flamboyant enough, he first had to take on the role on an interim basis for six months.
No, Bernard was not flamboyant; he was a quiet force, endowed with a lively intelligence and a great sense of listening, hence the wisdom that he was rightly recognized for. We could trust him. Always.
I found it again in 2013, when I joined the board of directors of Duty. He was aware that his reign was coming to an end, but he was determined as ever to meet the challenges of the day to leave a house in order. With the late Jean Lamarre, who then chaired the board of directors, he laid the foundations for a major recapitalization operation which was concluded shortly after his retirement.
Subsequently, he continued to give of his time and used his impressive network of contacts to solicit donations on behalf of the Friends of the Duty.
Bernard’s entire professional life was devoted to doing what should, and even more, in the service of Duty, an essential institution of Quebec society. Although it seems completely insufficient to me, the word “thank you” is the necessary one to recognize this exceptional dedication. My colleagues on the board of directors join me in expressing this gratitude and offering our most sincere condolences to Bernard’s wife, Marie Lavigne, their children and other members of their family.