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Former St-Denis Liberal MP Marcel Prud’homme, who will be retiring from the Senate at the end of November when he turns 75, was the guest of honour at a reception staged by Mayor Gérald Tremblay at Montreal City Hall on Sept. 9, which was attended by many of the officials, diplomats and other dignitaries Prud’homme had occasion to meet during his long career in politics.
Diplomatic friends
“We often see all the consuls, but not always the ambassadors, so I’m so happy that we have so many ambassadors here,” said Tremblay, noting that diplomats from Algeria, Cuba, Yemen and Morocco were among the guests at the exclusive celebration held on the reception balcony behind city hall.
Also present were the consuls of Greece and of Russia. The guests also included current Liberal MP for Papineau Justin Trudeau, accompanied by his mother, Margaret, as well as Senators Pierre-Claude Nolin, Francis Fox, Anne Cools and Lucie Pépin, Park Extension city councillor Mary Deros and many members of the Prud’homme family. “Today we are gathered to acknowledge our respect, our recognition, but also our friendship for Senator Marcel Prud’homme,” said Tremblay.
‘Man of integrity,’ says mayor
“He is a friend, my friend, but I am also convinced that he is your friend. He has made a lasting impression on our collective consciousness with his sense of duty, his determination to defend sometimes difficult causes, and his desire to come to the help of society’s least favoured. All those who have been around him are unanimous — that Marcel Prud’homme is a man with integrity, a man of rare energy, and someone with a determination and dedication that are exemplary.”
Prud’homme was first elected to the House of Commons in a 1964 by-election and went on to be re-elected eight times. Although he spent most of his time in the backbenches, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Manpower and Immigration, to the Secretary of State for Canada, and to the Minister of Regional Economic Expansion. He was also renowned for his outspoken views in support of the Palestinian cause. As a result, he developed a strong relationship with leaders from the Arab and Algerian communities, several of whom were present at the reception.
Served under nine PMs
Prud’homme served under nine prime ministers. In 1989 while the Liberals were in Opposition, he was the party’s critic for arms control and disarmament. Starting in 1992, he chaired the Quebec Liberal Caucus. The following year, Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney appointed Prud’homme to the Senate as an independent member. Prud’homme, who has never known as one who is short on words, lived up to his reputation as a gifted orator during the reception.
Looking back on his political career, he maintained that the issue of “reasonable accommodation,” which made headlines in Quebec over the last few years, wasn’t new to him and that he had been putting it into practice with his multicultural constituents going back decades. “It is not something to be the subject of a debate, but something to be put into practice,” he said. “Because if the Canadian/Montreal experience does not succeed, it’s the planet that will not succeed.
Reasonable accommodation
“We don’t have this problem in Canada. We only have to better respect others with their differences. And that’s what I tried to do throughout my career in politics.” Reflecting on the diversity of cultures and of individuals, Prud’homme at one point quoted Oscar Wilde, who said some words to the effect, ‘If I stop to be like me who will be left to look like me?’ Well, there’s no problem. I have no intention of looking like anyone else. I am who I am. It’s a package deal. Who you see is the one who I am.”