Guy Bertrand

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For the Canadian broadcaster with the same name, see Guy Bertrand (broadcaster).

Guy Bertrand is a lawyer operating in Quebec City. He is a founding member of the Parti Québécois and ran in the PQ leadership election of 1985. He has been a Quebec sovereigntist of the pur et dur stream for most of his public life, before shifting to the opposite Quebec federalist ideology during the 1990s. He has converted back to sovereigntism during the 2000s. He is also the author of Enough is enough! (translation of the French Plaidoyer pour les citoyens 'Representing citizens'), where he criticizes the destructive and dishonest tactics of the Quebec separatist movement, but indicates continued support for their ideals.

He defended Léon Mugesera, well publicized anti-Tutsi speaker of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and now faces accusations from the Barreau du Québec for remarks he made during the Mugasera trial. He accused the Canadian government and the Supreme Court of Canada of giving in to pressure from Jewish organizations, which he claimed wanted Mugasera deported.

Bertrand admitted to the charge on October 31, 2005, and is now awaiting sentencing which could range from a slap on the wrist to being disbarred for life.

More recently Bertrand made a case for Quebec to have its own team in the upcoming 2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships being held partly in Quebec City. However, Quebec is not a member of the IIHF and even if admitted, would need to work their way up to the "A" Pool of the World Championship. The idea has also not garnered much support among Quebec hockey stars. Top forward Vincent Lecavalier has publicly opposed the idea.^[1]

In October 2007, Bertrand told a provincial commission on reasonable accommodation for cultural minorities that French is threatened by language accommodations. He also claimed that English and multiculturalism in Montreal are undermining French, and that newcomers must acculturate into the majority. Commission co-chairman Charles Taylor reminded Bertrand the commission is about religious accommodations for minorities and not linguistic ones.[1]

Bertrand criticized Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu for not being able to speak French, despite having lived in Quebec for quite some time. Bertrand said it "demonstrates contempt for our language. It is not respectful." His comments were perceived, across Canada as well as in Quebec, as largely ridiculous and given in poor taste.