“Who remembers René Lévesque”: a Quebec that remembers

“If we talk again [de René Lévesque], 35 years later, it’s because there was something great in this man, it’s obvious”, drops Martin Lachance about the founder of the Parti Québécois, a few minutes after the start of the documentary. Who remembers René Lévesque?. Fishing enthusiast, the latter recounts, while he is aboard a rowboat in the heart of Lac du Pimbina, 30 kilometers from Shawi-nigan, what has been called “the great déclubage”. An initiative taken under René Lévesque, this operation put an end to private hunting and fishing clubs in Quebec, thus allowing French Canadians to reclaim their territory, which until then had been strongly controlled by the wealthy and the English-speaking.

This is what sets the scene, quite colorful, of this one-hour documentary on the former Quebec Prime Minister. Hosted by political journalist Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, who previously narrated the podcast The night of the long knives, this collaboration between Télé-Québec and the magazine News tries to answer this thorny question, but above all to another: “what do we remember about this man who seems to have marked the spirits? »

It is on the occasion of the politician’s double birthday, the 100and of his birth and on the 35and of his death (24 August 1922 and 1er November 1987), that Guillaume Bourgault-Côté traveled across Quebec, a tribute in itself to René Lévesque, he who loved this territory so much. From Montreal to Quebec and from Shawinigan to the Gaspé, the host lined up the interviews allowing him to highlight the exhaustive legacy that “Ti-Poil” bequeathed to the Quebec nation, despite the pandemic context sometimes visible on the screen due to distancing.

“We know that many people remembered René Lévesque’s first term as a very great one,” explains Guillaume Bourgault-Côté during an interview with The duty. And inevitably, it’s been a long time, so some of his achievements have been forgotten. »

It is moreover the extent of the politician’s exploits that was the most striking aspect of the journalist’s many meetings: “Personally, there are several of his achievements that I was unaware of or that I had forgotten and that I find particularly interesting. Especially since we see today the resonance that it has [encore aujourd’hui]. »

Guillaume Bourgault-Côté thinks in particular of the question of the environment, which is fundamental these days and which was highlighted thanks to the former Prime Minister. “It was under René Lévesque, for example, that we created the Ministry of the Environment, the Parks Act which, ultimately, will become SEPAQ’s parks, as well as the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’ ‘environment [BAPE]. All this at the same time as, in this great theme of protection and access to the territory, the whole question of unclubbing comes up. »

On the order of the grand

Obviously, René Lévesque’s achievements do not stop there. “When he came to power, he kind of closed the parenthesis of the Quiet Revolution, but there was a context that allowed that too. Almost everything had to be done, ”explains Guillaume Bourgault-Côté.

On a few occasions, responses to surveys specially created for the documentary are highlighted. Among these, one was to find out what was the politician’s most notable achievement according to the population. The classification then jostled for the introduction of Bill 101, the 1980 referendum, the nationalization of electricity, the founding of the Parti Québécois, the laws on automobile insurance, youth protection, consumer protection, the protection of agricultural land, the refusal to sign the Constitution as well as the recognition of the ancestral rights of the First Nations.

Some other points, including René Lévesque’s greatest pride, do not appear in this list. According to Marie-Claude Tremblay, who held the position of chief of staff for several years and who was interviewed by Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, the Act respecting the financing of political parties would have been the achievement that her former boss would have been happiest with. Moreover, only his love for democracy could have surpassed his well-known affection for French, indicated Pauline Marois, who was a minister under René Lévesque and who also occupies a prominent place in this documentary.

In all, about fifteen speakers put their grain of salt. The unique perspectives of Claude Lévesque, son of the politician, or even that of Luc Cyr, a documentary filmmaker familiar with the context of René Lévesque’s childhood, bring in particular a whole new understanding of the life of the former Prime Minister.

More intimate with a crowd

“Which Prime Minister has been the most outstanding since the Quiet Revolution? asks another poll. Unsurprisingly, it is René Lévesque. What surprises Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, among others, is the proportion with which he stands out from the others: “Basically, for each person who said “Bourassa”, there are eight who answered “Lévesque”. . There are people who were very important and who are almost non-existent in this poll. »

Further polls also reveal a certain esteem for René Lévesque, as well as a favorable opinion of him among non-Francophones. “Among Anglophones, we feel that over time, there is a kind of respect that emerged as the character became a little less polarizing and reached the status of a historical figure,” explains Guillaume Bourgault-Côté in order to to clarify the results.

We also have to give the first leader of the Parti Québécois the special relationship he had with the people. Whether it was his charisma, his carefully chosen words, his authenticity or his years spent on television as a journalist, René Lévesque had a unique bond with the nation as Prime Minister. He was “more intimate with a crowd than one on one”, summarizes the actor Denis Bouchard, who played René Lévesque in an eponymous series in 1994.

It is thanks to this special relationship with citizens, combined with the many bills he passed — and which are still very much alive today — that René Lévesque etched his name in Quebec’s memory. “If there is a politician that people remember in the last 60 years, so in modern Quebec, it is him. “And for good reason: there really was” a before and after René Lévesque “, concludes Guillaume Bourgault-Côté.

Who remembers René Lévesque?

Télé-Québec, Wednesday, February 9, 8 p.m.

To see in video


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