Former Quebec minister Jerome Choquette has died at the age of 89.
His former press secretary Jean-Claude Gobe says Choquette died Friday in Montreal after a long illness.
Choquette was known for his role during the 1970 October crisis, when he served as justice minister under premier Robert Bourassa.
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In that role, he held the first government news conference after the abduction of British diplomat James Cross.
He was also the one to announce that the government would not meet the kidnappers’ demands to release 23 jailed members of the nationalist Front du Liberation du Quebec, or FLQ.
Several years later, Choquette introduced a bill to establish the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.