Gaétan Girouard: shockwave: “For us, the documentary was very beneficial” – Natalie Préfontaine, widow of the journalist

Jean-Philippe Dion looks back on the journey of journalist Gaétan Girouard, a man who broke down doors on the show I to unmask the scoundrels or the injustices. Nothing seemed to stop him, as we see in the touching documentary Gaétan Girouard: shock wavewhich will be broadcast on January 11 on TVA.

When he committed the irreparable on January 14, 1999, all of Quebec was touched straight to the heart. Gaétan Girouard was in people’s daily lives by the nature of his work at TVA. The big guy co-hosted I live with his friend Jocelyne Cazin and he had just covered the election campaign in the fall of 1998. We learned that he had already gone through difficult episodes in terms of mental health, and his lack of confidence, despite what he gave off on screen, is also mentioned.

Exhausted, emaciated and under constant pressure, notably because of lawsuits totaling tens of millions of dollars, Gaétan Girouard suffered from severe depression, we discover in the documentary, a state of distress of which everyone was unaware of the scope. , including his wife, Natalie Préfontaine. Only his doctor knew.

“I agreed to participate in the documentary so that Gaétan can be remembered and also for my daughters, because they were young when this painful event happened. For the grandchildren too,” said his widow, speaking of “a new family therapy” in an interview with the QMI Agency.

“That our daughters can talk openly and without shame about their father, about what happened, that they can also see all the memories. For us, the documentary was very beneficial and if it can be useful to the public, so much the better,” added M^me Prefontaine.

Sensitization

25 years after the disappearance of Gaétan Girouard, Jean-Philippe Dion looks at the journey of the man who was only 33 years old at the time of his death. Because he was already affected by his mother’s mental health issues in his childhood, the host and producer knows that the subject is delicate. Especially when it comes to suicide and we absolutely do not want to glorify this gesture and create a ripple effect. There was also a before and after Gaétan Girouard in terms of journalistic treatment with regard to suicide.

Jean-Philippe Dion does his work with respect and kindness in the documentary that the QMI Agency saw. Its mission is to raise awareness among Quebecers of issues affecting mental health and the resources that exist, the former being in the hands of each of us.

“One possible solution, mentioned by Jocelyne Cazin in the documentary, is to learn to listen to each other and talk to each other, to communicate with each other if we see that someone is not doing well. We have a collective duty to share information,” said the host and producer.

“The more we progressed in the documentary, the more we understood the nuances we had to have and the delicacy of the approach. Yes, we understand initially that Gaétan Girouard was a beloved man, at the height of his career, then we understand the reasons why he committed the irreparable, and we propose possible solutions, which was very important for me. The Legault government will have to react, because there are clearly problems with professional secrecy linked to mental health. This will be my workhorse for the coming years,” underlined Jean-Philippe Dion, recalling that there is help for those who need it, in particular by calling 1 866 APPELLE.

The daughters of Gaétan Girouard and Natalie Préfontaine, Justine and Marie-Claude, who were respectively 8 years old and 6 years old when their father died, participate in the documentary directed by Maude Sabbagh, as do her sister, Christine, and his best friend, Gilles Dion, with whom he began his radio career, in Granby.

“I really see the documentary as a gift. We wanted there to be a goal, reflections, because the subject remains relevant today,” said Marie-Claude Girouard.

As Gaétan Girouard was a star journalist at TVA, his former colleagues Pierre Bruneau, Jocelyne Cazin, Alain Gravel and Jean-Pierre Jodoin also share the pain they felt upon learning of his death.

The current host of IFélix Séguin, is also interviewed, as is clinical psychologist Marc-André Dufour, who took calls at the Quebec City Suicide Prevention Center the same day Gaétan Girouard died, in the same city.

It’s very moving to hear all these testimonies and to see Gaétan Girouard in action again at I during the Oka crisis in 1990, during the parade of the last Stanley Cup conquest of the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 as well as in the news bulletins, he who always sought to open it with his report of the day.

Produced by Productions Déferlantes, in collaboration with Quebecor Content, the documentary Gaétan Girouard: shock wave will be broadcast on Thursday January 11, at 9 p.m., on TVA and on TVA+. It will then be offered to LCN viewers on Friday January 19, at 8 p.m.

They said:

Jocelyne Cazin – former journalist and co-host of Gaétan Girouard at I

“I remember from the documentary words like performance, perfectionism, insecurity, the way others look… All that, when you are a sensitive being and you have a hard time living like Gaétan could have had […] Gaétan did not express his emotions, like many men. There are a lot of messages that need to get across, including talking to each other. I said it in the documentary: if we had talked to each other, it’s certain that we wouldn’t be here.”

Pierre Bruneau – former TVA anchor and friend of Gaétan Girouard

“It really shakes me up to see this documentary, because it’s a whole episode of my life. I was the one who announced his death on the air and spoke at his funeral, talking about perfectionism. Saying: “Perfection doesn’t exist, Gaétan. You’re aiming for it, it’s the mark of the great, but it’s at the same time a fragility.”

Marc-André Dufour, clinical psychologist

“It’s important to talk about the impact of suicide […] If I want to prevent suicides, it is also to prevent bereavement following suicides. Tributes are important, but there’s something behind it, and that’s what this documentary does, is talk about the impact. There are more than 1,000 suicides per year in Quebec, so imagine the number of people who are affected.”

Alain Gravel – journalist and former colleague of Gaétan Girouard

“There was always a competition between Gaétan and me to know who would open the bulletin. It was a friendly rivalry, because I got along very well with him […] I recognize myself in his story, because when I made Investigation, the pressure was strong too. We also had threats, and it was rock’n’roll with a lot of prosecutions. I never feared people, but I feared making mistakes, as Gaétan feared. This fear, when you work like an idiot, it ends up being obsessive.”

Félix Séguin – journalist from the Bureau of Investigation and current host of I

“I estimate [aujourd’hui] that I have incredible support from my employers. It’s changed a lot […]»

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