Camille Laurin (May 6, 1922 – March 11, 1999) was a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

and ''

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

'' (PQ)

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

in the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. A MNA member for the riding of Bourget, he is considered the father of Quebec's language law known informally as "

Bill 101 The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...

Biography

Born in

Charlemagne, Quebec Charlemagne () is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec, Canada on the north shore of the Rivière des Prairies, northeast of Montreal's downtown core. In 2021, the population was 6,302. It is the birthplace of singer Celine Dion. The tow ...

, Laurin obtained a degree in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

where he came under the influence of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest,

Lionel Groulx Lionel Groulx (; 13 January 1878 – 23 May 1967) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, historian, and Quebec nationalist. Biography Early life and ordination Lionel Groulx, né Joseph Adolphe Lyonel Groulx, the son of a farmer and lumber ...

. After earning his degree, Laurin went to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he worked at the Boston State Hospital. Following a stint in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1957, he returned to practice in Quebec. In 1961, he authored the preface of the book ''Les fous crient au secours'', which described the conditions of psychiatric hospitals of the time. He was one of the early founders of the

Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision o ...

. As a senior cabinet minister in the first PQ government elected in the 1976 Quebec election, he was the guiding force behind

, the legislation that placed restrictions on the use of English on public signs and in the workplace of large companies, and strengthened the position of French as the only

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

in Quebec. Laurin resigned from his cabinet position on November 26, 1984 because of a disagreement with Lévesque on the future of the sovereignty movement. He resigned from his seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

on January 25, 1985. He was elected once again to the Assembly on September 12, 1994 but did not run in the 1998 election for health reasons. He died in 1999 after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Bibliography

* ''Les fous crient au secours (1961)''

External links

*
Biography on Vigile.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurin, Camille 1922 births 1999 deaths Canadian psychiatrists Parti Québécois MNAs Université de Montréal alumni Canadian Roman Catholics Deputy premiers of Quebec People from Charlemagne, Quebec Politicians from Montreal Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian expatriates in France Boston State Hospital physicians 20th-century Canadian physicians

Biography

Bibliography

See also

External links