MONTREAL – Paul Rose, a prominent figure in the history of contemporary Quebec, died Thursday at Sacré-Coeur Hospital in Montreal following a cerebral stroke. He was 69.
A member the Chenier cell of the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), he was accused and convicted to life in prison in connection with the assassination of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte during the October Crisis in 1970.
Laporte’s strangled body was found in the trunk of a car on October 17, 1970.
He was later paroled in 1982 after it was determined he was not present at the time of the killing.
Rose died Thursday morning, surrounded by his relatives, including his son, Felix and daughter, Rosalie.
After his release from prison in December 1982, he contributed regularly to the Quebec French language newspaper l’aut’journal. Politically active, he was controversially nominated as candidate for the New Democratic Party of Quebec in a 1992 provincial by-election. He went on to lead the party (renamed the Parti de la démocratie socialiste) from 1996-2002.
Until his death, he worked as an advisor to the Quebec union, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and continued to be a strong supporter of the Quebec sovereignty movement.
– With files from La Presse Canadienne
Comments