Quebec politician in the 1970s

Pierre Laporte (1921-1970) was a member of the Quebec Provincial Liberal Party. During the October Crisis of 1970, he was provincial minister of immigration, manpower and of labour. On October 10, 1970, Laporte was kidnapped from his home, by masked men in the FLQ. Pierre Elliott Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act on October 16, 1970. Laporte was killed by the Chénier cell of the FLQ, and his body found in the trunk of a car on October 18, 1970.

FLQ members Paul and Jacques Rose and Francis Simard were arrested in a farmhouse near St. Luc, southeast of Montreal. They were charged with kidnapping and murder. On March 13, 1971, Paul Rose was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the murder of Laporte. Francis Simard was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 20, 1971. On July 17, 1973, Jacques Rose was convicted of being an accessory after the fact in the kidnapping of Pierre Laporte, and received a sentence of 8 years.

On July 17, 1978, Jacques Rose was paroled. When he appeared at a Parti Quebecois convention in 1981, he was given a hero's welcome and a standing ovation. In 1982, Paul Rose was granted full parole. Simard would in 1994 go on to create a book and a movie "Octobre", based on his recollection of the kidnapping and murder. The movie, a sympathetic portrayal of the events, was partly financed by the federal Canadian government he attempted to overthrow.

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