Yves Michaud’s memory is leaking. Memories of the parliamentary execution he suffered on December 14, 2000 for a fault he did not commit have become hazy. MP Ruba Ghazal was careful not to remind him of this when she presented him with the National Assembly medal in Montreal on Saturday.
Nevertheless, this “symbolic gesture of reparation” allows the family to “turn the page” on the “Michaud affair”, which broke out more than 20 years ago, said his daughter, Anne Michaud, in an exchange with The duty.
Ruba Ghazal had taken it into her head to correct as much as possible the injustice committed by the National Assembly against Yves Michaud, whom she elevates to the rank of great Quebecers, like Gérald Godin and Camille Laurin. In December 2000, the deputies had reproached, by a motion of censure, Yves Michaud for having made “unacceptable remarks” towards the Jewish community – which he had however never pronounced. Since then, the National Assembly has never made amends.
On Saturday, Ruba Ghazal hailed Yves Michaud’s exceptional contribution to Quebec society in the great hall of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix residence in Montreal, where he resides. Then, the elected representative opened a blue velvet case, took the medal that was there and handed it to the ex-journalist, politician, diplomat and “Robin of the banks”. The 92-year-old man, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, spontaneously stood up to receive the distinction from the National Assembly. ” The national assembly ! There, I made people scream! launched the former deputy (1966-1970), in front of a dozen guests, including former deputies Louise Beaudoin, Jean-Pierre Charbonneau and Amir Khadir, as well as the former secretary general of the government Louis Bernard.
Yves Michaud recalled having defended the “idea of an independent Quebec”. “It didn’t happen. I hope other generations will bring this forward,” he said in a loud voice. Ruba Ghazal reassured him. “You can count on us,” she told him, emphasizing having inherited his love for the French language and for Quebec. “It is thanks to you, as well as the men and women who defended the independence of Quebec, that I am today a separatist,” noted the member for Mercier – where Yves Michaud had tried, in vain, winning the Parti Québécois nomination in 2000.
Louise Beaudoin also worked during the ceremony to recall to the memory of Yves Michaud the “happy years” from 1979 to 1984, which he spent at the head of the General Delegation of Quebec in Paris. His eyes lit up again, and he exclaimed, “Paris! »
The Michaud affair goes beyond citizen Michaud
“There are still very strong, very intense relationships [entre la France et le Québec] in all sectors, but particularly in cultural matters. […] You were the origin, in a way, of all this. I want to thank you for that,” said the former PQ minister after sitting down opposite him. According to Louise Beaudoin, who succeeded him at the Délégation générale du Québec in Paris (1984-1985), Yves Michaud was “a pioneer and a valiant craftsman of these essential relations for Québec”.
“Carried by the impulses of the heart”, “happy memories”, such as the lobster suppers he shared with René Lévesque and Corinne Côté-Lévesque in Maine, come back more easily to Yves Michaud’s mind, notice his daughter To have to.
It leaves it to the National Assembly to erase the “stain” of the “Michaud Affair” from its history, but above all to modify its rules so that no other citizen can be tried and sentenced by Parliament without cause and without being heard beforehand. “The Michaud affair goes beyond citizen Michaud,” she argued.
The former President of the National Assembly Jean-Pierre Charbonneau is convinced that “history will judge this event [du 14 décembre 2000] thanks to Yves Michaud”. “It was an injustice. It is always an injustice, ”he argued in the middle of the community hall of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix residence. “Unfortunately, this error was not corrected by a political gesture from the whole Assembly, but what Ruba is doing today, on behalf of all, including former MPs who were there and who regretted their vote and who apologized, it’s a certain way of saying to Yves Michaud: “We haven’t forgotten”. »