State funeral for Bernard Landry at Notre-Dame
Regular folks and a political who’s who are expected to pack the state funeral for former Quebec premier Bernard Landry on Tuesday in Montreal. One day after Landry died at age 81 at his home in Verchères, the government confirmed the details of his state funeral in a statement. As per the tradition, Landry’s body will lie in state in the Red Room of the National Assembly on Saturday, with the public invited to pay their respects from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A second lying in state, also open for visitation from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will take place Monday in Montreal at Notre-Dame Basilica. Landry’s funeral will take place, also at Notre-Dame, on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Flags on Quebec government buildings including the legislature will be remain at half mast until dusk on the day of the funeral. Active in politics for 50 years and Quebec’s 28th premier, Landry died of pulmonary fibrosis on Tuesday. He leaves behind his spouse, Chantal Renaud, as well as three children, Julie, Philippe and Pascale, from his first marriage, to Lorraine Laporte, who died in 1999. Having held just about every portfolio in the governments of René Lévesque, Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard, Landry — sometimes tagged a super minister because of his workload and influence — occupied the premier’s chair from 2001 to 2003. He quit the leadership of the Parti Québécois in 2005, returning to private life and having never seen his dream of making Quebec a country fulfilled. His death has sparked an outpouring of affection, starting with Premier François Legault, who said Landry was among the greats in Quebec’s history. Legault announced that the Landry family had agreed to a state funeral, which means he will be sent off with full honours as per the protocol for such events. Besides his lying in state in the Red Room, the legislature chamber used for the most solemn ceremonies and events, Sûreté du Québec officers will bear the casket, which will be draped with the flag of Quebec. The lying in state has created a scramble at the legislature, which has been undergoing major restoration for months now. Meanwhile, other tributes to Landry continued to roll in including that of former premier Philippe Couillard, who is currently outside of the country on vacation following his electoral defeat Oct. 1. “Bernard Landry had Quebec in his heart and gave back enormously over the last 50 years,” Couillard said in a statement sent to The Canadian Press. Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, said Quebec has lost “a monument of its history,” and a man from a generation of people who accepted to devote their lives to public service. The Quebec Cree nation, with whom Landry negotiated the Paix des Braves development agreement, also paid special homage to Landry saying the Cree and the province have lost a great friend. Abel Bosum, the chief Cree negotiator on the Paix des Braves, praised Landry’s “vision, trust and courage.” The last Quebec politician to be given a state funeral was former premier Parizeau, who died in 2015.