'He did a lot of good': Friends, politicians on Jean Lapierre

Jean Lapierre addresses a crowd of business and government officials in Halifax on Friday, Aug. 5, 2005. Lapierre, a political analyst and former MP, was killed in a plane crash Tuesday in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, just off eastern Quebec, TVA reports.(THE CANADIAN PRESS / Andrew Vaughan)

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard

(Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

“He was a man from the regions but also a man from the city, so he could talk to all Quebecers from all walks of life. There was a deep emotional attachment between Quebecers and Jean Lapierre.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

(Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

“We’re remembering Jean who was an extraordinary, thoughtful, passionate man who was deeply committed to his country and always looked for the very best in it. He had an incredible knack to both understand and engage at the highest political levels while never forgetting what regular people thought and how regular people thought about what politicians were doing, and that skill is one we are going to miss for a very long time.”

Quebec radio host Paul Houde

“We stuck together, we cried a lot after, but we did what Jean would have hoped that we [would do], I mean stay on the air, get the news, get the facts, stay put, but I have to say – I’ve been in radio for 41 years, that was the worst day of my life.”

Former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe

“He said 'When I come back, let’s have lunch together. Let’s organize lunch.' I organized lunch, we were supposed to be five. We were four.”

Quebec TV host Paul Larocque

"It’s maybe the second saddest day of my life. The first one was when Jean died. I realized that when Mutsumi Takahashi and Andrew Carter from CJAD went on LCN in French telling us that for Anglos in Montreal and Quebec, they were as shocked as we were, francophones. And I realized that day how Jean was a bridge between the deux solitudes, between francophones and anglophones. ... I knew Jean quite well. He was a great man. I miss him every hour, every minute of my life."

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre

(Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

“The reason why you have so many people, not only public figures but people [at the memorial], is because he did a lot of good for people.”

Former prime minister Paul Martin

(Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

"He was a friend in the best sense of the word. The same thing that everybody saw, that was... you saw that in your friendship. There was nothing artificial about Jean. He was a real person who felt very strongly about everything."

Former Quebec premier and federal MP Jean Charest

“He was a rival, he was an adversary, he was someone who covered me in the media, he was someone I got to know better and appreciate, even ask [for] advice… he constructed himself a place that was unique in the political landscape and media landscape. He lived in both worlds and the circumstances of his death are just exceptional. It reminds us how much destiny holds us.”

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