Many Quebecers, including some dignitaries, came to pay their last respects to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney during the funeral service which took place Thursday at Saint-Patrick’s Basilica in Montreal.
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“When my father died in 1990, Brian Mulroney was one of the first to call me to offer his condolences. It’s important in politics to always remember that we have adversaries, but not enemies,” confided Gilles Duceppe, former Bloc Québécois leader.
As was the case in Ottawa the day before, the morning was devoted to dignitaries and members of the former statesman’s extended family.
“He was a major prime minister who tried to reconcile the divisions in the country and, when I worked with Robert Bourassa, I often had the opportunity to deal with him and see him at work to try to mend the country,” remembers John Parisella, who worked in the offices of former Liberal ministers Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson (son).
Louis-Philippe Messier.
The president of Quebecor Pierre Karl Péladeau was also present to pay tribute to the man who was the president of the board of directors of his organization.
“Mr. Mulroney has been an ally, a personal advisor, but also for the company. I think he was very proud of all the achievements we made at Quebecor,” he confided in an interview with Mario Dumont to LCN.
“Mulroney was a warm and genuine man. I knew him when I was a young lawyer and he gave me advice. 40 years later, he was still advising me. He had the courage to defend and have free trade adopted, even though it was not necessarily a popular decision,” says Raymond Bachand, former Liberal Minister of Finance of Quebec.
Louis-Philippe Messier.
“It’s a page that is turning for our society of course, for history. […] This is the moment when we say goodbye to a great statesman, a friend of Quebec, a great friend of Quebec. But also a friend of our youth. So yes, these are not very happy times, but we must salute the life of a remarkable man” also testified the former first PQ leader Lucien Bouchard.
Many Quebecers came to honor the memory of the politician who left their mark on them, many of whom had already met him.
This is the case of Richard Daudelin, a former RCMP officer: “I already protected Mulroney and his family here in Montreal. Not long, but enough to learn to appreciate them. I want to offer them my condolences and tell them that I am thinking of them during this ordeal.”
Louis-Phlippe Messier
“Even though I come from a liberal family, we have always greatly respected and admired him. He was an extraordinary man. I came with my husband to offer our condolences to his family,” confides Diane Forrestell.
Louis-Phlippe Messier.
“I was an activist in the Progressive Conservative Party and I had the privilege of meeting him on a few occasions. When this man entered a room, it was remarkable: he had an aura,” recalls Daniel Robitaille.
Louis-Phlippe Messier
Jonathan Deitcher, a former vice-president of RBC Securities, emotionally recounts meeting him in a park in 1976 because they were neighbors. “My daughter was playing with hers in the sandbox. He had just lost the leadership race to Joe Clark. I went to congratulate him for his effort and a 48-year friendship followed between him and me. “He’s a great friend that I’ve just lost, I’m really sad.”
Louis-Phlippe Messier
Another day of ardent worship open to the general public is planned in the metropolis on Sunday.
The state funeral will take place Saturday at the Notre-Dame basilica in Montreal. They will be preceded by a procession through the streets of the city center starting from Saint-Patrick’s Basilica towards Notre-Dame Basilica.
The state funeral will be broadcast on LCN from 9 a.m., then on TVA from 10 a.m.
The special show will be hosted by Paul Larocque, who will be alongside Mario Dumont, Emmanuelle Latraverse, Julie Marcoux and Pierre-Olivier Zappa.