JACQUES HÉBERT, 1923-2007

It is with deep sorrow that the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has learned that former Senator Jacques Hébert, 84, considered one of the pioneers of civil liberties in Canada, died on the night of December 6^th. Mr. Hébert was a founding Member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

A journalist, editor, writer and activist, he will be remembered as a courageous and passionate man who took part in the most central social debates, defending his ideas with fierce determination.

Jacques Hébert graduated from the Montreal École des Hautes études commerciales, and first made his name in the 1950s when he joined Gérard Pelletier and Pierre Elliott Trudeau at the famous Cité libre magazine. Along with other intellectuals, he engaged in protests against the regime of Maurice Duplessis and fought for the modernization of Quebec’s institutions.

Mr. Hébert energetically criticized the handling of the Wilbert Coffin Affair, a Quebec prospector executed for the presumed murder of three American hunters in Gaspésie in 1953, and was eventually jailed for his opposition.

He founded the Éditions de l’Homme in 1958 and later, in 1961, the Éditions du Jour. He himself published some twenty works throughout his life.

Mr. Hébert also helped establish the Ligue des droits de l’homme (Human Rights League), and founded the Canada World Youth and Katimavik programs. In 1986, three years after becoming a Senator, he staged a hunger strike when Katimavik’s survival was threatened.

Jacques Hébert retired from the Senate in 1998, but he continued to be active, defending the Duplessis’ Orphans and pursuing his own writing projects.

He received numerous awards, honours and other recognitions, including an honorary doctorate from Ryerson University in 1997. He was also named Officer of the Order of Canada, Knight of the Order of Malta, and Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade. In 2002, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

With Mr. Hébert’s death, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation loses one of its founding Members and an ardent defender of the Foundation’s values and mission. The directors, members and staff of the Trudeau Foundation offer their heartfelt sympathies and support to Mr. Hébert’s family in this time of great loss.

Pierre-Gerlier Forest, Ph.D.
President