Bourassa, Robert

He studied at the College of Jean de Brebeuf ( fr: Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf ).

He then received a law degree from the University of Montreal in 1956 and was admitted to the Quebec Bar Association that same year. Later he studied at Oxford , and also received a diploma in political economy at Harvard .

He married Andre Simar, the daughter of a major industrialist Edouard Simar, the owner of Sorel industries . Two children were born in the marriage - the son of Francois and the daughter Michel Burass.

In 1966, he was first elected to the National Assembly of Quebec from the district of Mercier. January 17, 1970 led the Liberal Party of Quebec . In the same year, as a result of the party’s victory in the April 29 elections, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Province on May 12, ending the short-term return to power of the National Union Party. Thus, he became the youngest prime minister of Quebec, taking this post in 36 years.

As prime minister of Québec, he played a decisive role in resolving the October crisis of 1970 , when the minister of labor in his government, Pierre Laporte, was kidnapped and killed by members of the Québec Liberation Front . It was Bourassa who demanded that the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, declare a state of emergency and apply the Martial Law, as a result of which the Canadian army began to patrol the streets of large Quebec cities and the national capital Ottawa .

Bourassa and Trudeau have often encountered questions about the relationship between the province and the federal government. Trudeau strongly opposed any encroachments of Quebec separatism. In addition, Trudeau felt a personal dislike for Bourass, calling him a "hot dog eater . "

While in power, Bourassa consistently pursued a policy of protecting the French language in Québec. In 1974 , he secured the adoption of the Law on the Official Language of Quebec ( Loi sur la langue officielle Loi 22 ), also known as “ Law 22 ”. Later, in 1976, in exchange for this law, the Government of the Quebec Party adopted the Charter of the French Language , also known as Act 101 . However, Law 22 was for its time much more radical than the subsequent Law 101. By giving French the status of the official language of the province of Québec, this law meant that Québec was no longer a bilingual territory (at the federal level in Canada, English and French equal status). Law 22 annoyed both the Anglo-Quebec people, who viewed him as an encroachment on their rights, as well as francophones, who considered him insufficiently radical. As a result of the fact that both of these groups turned away from him, Bourassa was defeated in the 1976 Quebec elections. Also notable achievements of his first government were the Law on Sickness Insurance (1970), Family Benefits in Québec (1973), Legal Aid (1973), and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (1975).

I lost the 1976 elections, which was won by the Quebec party led by René Leveque , and even more so, lost the deputy seat as a result of these elections - in his “own” Mercier district Gerald Godden won it. Resigned from the post of leader of the Québec Liberal Party and held teaching positions in Europe and the USA .

Burassa remained out of politics until 1983 , when on October 15 he was re-elected leader of the Québec Liberal Party. As a result of the Quebec elections of 1985, he again received the opportunity to form a government. At the same time, during the election he was defeated in his own district of Bertrand and had to wait 6 weeks before the elections in the district of Saint-Laurent, where one of the deputies gave him his place. The Prime Minister was present as a spectator at the inauguration of the new government, when Vice-Premier Liz Bacon delivered the opening speech.

During his second mandate, Burass, relying on Article 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , which allowed provincial parliaments to act in contradiction with the Charter in some cases, reversed the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada , declaring unconstitutional some sections of the French Charter . This decision provoked the resignation of a number of English-speaking ministers in his cabinet. Despite this, a few years later, he made a number of changes and additions to the charter - this compromise reduced the controversy surrounding the language, which remained the dominant issue in Quebec politics for decades. Most Quebecers adopted a new language status.

Bourassa fought for the recognition of Quebec as a “separate society” within the framework of the Canadian Constitution , promising the Quebec people that their excellent status within Canada should be fixed in a new constitutional agreement. Nevertheless, Trudeau was able to successfully confront Bourassa during both of his last mandates. Even during his first mandate, Bourassa participated in the drafting of the 1971 Victoria Charter - an unsuccessful attempt at constitutional reform. During the second mandate, he worked closely with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and was able to win numerous concessions from the federal government, which were included in the text of the Micha and Charlottetown agreements. The failure of these two agreements led to the failure of attempts at constitutional reform, and the initiative was intercepted by supporters of the province’s complete independence.

Burassa began a hydropower plant project in James Bay , but faced opposition from environmental activists as well as Cree Indians who lived in the region of the proposed construction. Also, the government of Bourassy played a decisive role in the fact that during the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 huge budget funds were saved, almost missing due to numerous delays in construction, which were caused by the mayor of Montreal Jean Drapot. Despite this, Bourassu was accused of allegedly wasting his money in vain, trying to save the Olympic Games, instead of taking measures to ensure that their training was adequately managed. His government was at the center of corruption scandals, which were one of the reasons for his defeat in the 1976 elections .

In 1990, Bourassa imposed a very controversial tax on food and services in Quebec (in protest against which Quebec Tax Minister M. Yves Séguin resigned).

In view of the deterioration of his health in 1994 , Bourassa left politics, especially since he began to lose popularity as a prime minister. In his capacity as leader of the liberals and the prime minister of Quebec, he was replaced by Daniel Johnson, who was defeated by the Quebec party 9 months later.

He died in 1996 in Montreal from skin cancer at the age of 63 years. Buried in the cemetery of Notre Dame de Nege in Montreal.

• Notice biographique de l'Assemblée nationale du québec
• Robert Bourassa, premier ministre à tout prix - Les Archives de Radio-Canada
• Portrait de Robert Bourassa - Gilles Lesage, L'année politique au Québec 1993-1994
• Biographie en ligne: L'éducation politique de Robert Bourassa par l'auteur Jean-François Lisée