Claude Poirier (born October 26, 1938 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

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 ...

) is a negotiator and crime reporter for the

-based Canadian French-language television network

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Federal government of the United States, federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, an ...

. He is best known for negotiating with suspects during hostage situations. Poirier's 60-year career as a crime reporter started in 1960 when he covered a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

. He continued to do the job for several months without receiving a salary. Soon after, he reported on the

assassinations Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

of U.S. president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and his brother

Robert Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

as well as

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

leader

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

In Quebec, he covered the kidnapping and subsequent murder of former Quebec Liberal Minister of Labor

Pierre Laporte Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ ...

, by the FLQ militant group in 1970. He has, perhaps unwillingly, nicknamed the RCMP (Gendarmerie Royale du Canada in French) la "Genmarderie Royale du Canada" ("marde" is a slang term for excrement in French). Rumour has it that he does it on purpose because of a grudge he has against them. Due to such events, he is often portrayed in comedy sketches. During his career Poirier has participated in numerous inquiries and trials as an expert and as a witness. He covered the widely publicized biker gang war that broke out in Quebec during the 1990s as well as trials in notorious murder or crime cases such as the trial of several biker gang members arrested during a province-wide

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

operation called "Printemps 2001" which significantly reduced their criminal activities around the province. During hostage situations or similar events, criminals often asked police for a negotiation with Poirier. In August 2007, he was heavily involved over the well-publicized case of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Cédrika Provencher, in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

, in a possible case of abduction. Poirier received the Medal of Bravery frin the Canadian government in 1977. The Quebec government jas honoured him five times during his career. Today, Poirier still comments on recent crime cases or cold ones on the

TVA Nouvelles TVA Nouvelles is the news division of TVA, a French language television network in Canada. Programs produced by the division include nightly local and national newscasts branded as ''TVA Nouvelles'', as well as the news magazine program ''JE' ...

broadcast at 5:00 p.m. EDT on weekdays and during the LCN morning show. During his commentary, he also discusses the judicial system as well as federal or provincial laws related to crime measures such as gun control, prison sentences and related matters. He is also the host of ''Le Vrai Négociateur'' on LCN, a 60-minute show that discusses various cases involving the juridical system in Quebec or Canada as well as various crime or disappearance cases. Poirier also played an important role in the production of the television series "Le Negociateur" which aired in 2005. The second season began on October 23, 2006, on the TVA television network. The series features well-known figures in

Quebec culture The culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting predominantly from the shared history of the French-speaking North American majority in Quebec. Québécois culture, as a whole, constitutes all distinctive traits – spiri ...

such as Elvis Gratton star actor

Julien Poulin Julien Poulin (born April 20, 1946) is Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He has portrayed numerous roles in several popular Quebec films and series. Elvis Gratton films His most memorable role was Elvis Gratton in whi ...

, Frederick de Grandpré, Pierre Curzi,

Les Boys ''Les Boys'' is a 1997 Quebec-made comedy film directed by Louis Saia. It has spawned three sequels and by any measure ( profit, box office or attendance) is the most successful Quebec made film series of all time, and one of the most successfu ...

actors

Serge Thériault Serge Thériault (born April 23, 1948 in Quebec City) is a Canadian comedian and actor from Quebec. He is best known for his collaborations with Claude Meunier, including the ''Ding et Dong'' comedy duo and the spinoff television series '' La Peti ...

and Roc Lafortune, 2004 Star Académie winner Stephanie Lapointe and

Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge (born February 28, 1976) is a Canadian actor and film producer best known for major roles in Quebec films ''Nitro'' and '' The 3 L'il Pigs (Les 3 p'tits cochons)'' in 2007. Profile After participating in a first commer ...

References

External links

Biography of Claude Poirier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poirier, Claude 1938 births Living people French Quebecers Journalists from Montreal