WATCH ABOVE: Hundreds of mourners paid their last respects to former Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau at the Caisse de dépôt on Saturday. Global’s Billy Shields has more.
MONTREAL – A long line of Quebecers watched as the coffin carrying former Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau was brought into the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
READ MORE: Former Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau dead at 84
He died on Monday at the age of 84.
The coffin was draped with the Quebec flag and carried in by Sûreté du Québec officers.
READ MORE: Former Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau remembered as a ‘giant’
Parizeau’s wife Lisette Lapointe followed the cortège.
Public visitation takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in Montreal.
A second viewing will take place at the National Assembly in Quebec City on Sunday.
Past and present politicians from all the parties showed up to pay their final respects.
“He was a great builder of Quebec,” former premier Jean Charest told Global News.
READ MORE: State funeral date for Jacques Parizeau confirmed
During his political career, Parizeau had both great admirers and strong opponents, but he will likely be remembered mostly for one remark.
In 1995, when it became clear the ‘Yes’ vote had lost a razor-thin sovereignty referendum, he said the defeat was due to “money and the ethnic vote.”
Parizeau resigned the next day.
All the same, longtime Liberal opponent John Parisella remembers his legacy warmly.
“He brought civility into politics,” said Parisella.
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In 1965, Parizeau – then an economist – helped created the Caisse de dépôt, a bureau that manages the province’s public pensions.
READ MORE: Should Montreal’s Amherst Street be renamed after Jacques Parizeau?
The organization’s headquarters will be renamed after him.
Parizeau’s funeral will be held on Tuesday.
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