Marcel Chaput (October 14, 1918 – January 19, 1991
", in ''Bilan du Siècle'', Université de Sherbrooke, retrieved June 5, 2008) was a scientist and a militant for the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

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 ...

from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Along with some 20 other people including

André D'Allemagne André d'Allemagne (October 14, 1929 – February 1, 2001) was a translator, political science teacher, essayist and a militant for the independence of Quebec from Canada. Along with some 20 other people including Marcel Chaput and Jacques Bellema ...

and

Jacques Bellemare Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

, he was a founding member of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale (RIN).

Biography

Family and education

Marcel Chaput was born in Hull,

on October 14, 1918.. His mother was Lucia Nantel, and his father, Narcisse Chaput, was a proofreader at Her Majesty's Printer in Ottawa.. He was the youngest child and sole boy in a family of seven children. He did not know three of his sisters, who died at a young age. The three sisters he knew were Rolande, Gabrielle and Madeleine. He was ten years old when his sister Rolande, 16, died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

.. After doing his primary schooling at École Lecomte, he entered the Collège Notre-Dame de Hull. He was enrolled in the cadet corps of his college. One of his teachers, Brother Ernest, led him to an interest in science. From that time he cherished the dream of being a chemist. In 1934, he joined the Groupe ReboulNamed in honour of father

Delisle Reboul Delisle or De Lisle or de Lisle may refer to: People * Delisle (surname) * DeLisle Worrell, a former governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Places ;Canada *Delisle, Quebec, a former municipality that is now part of Alma, in RCM of Lac-Saint-Je ...

. of the Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne-française. In September 1933, he left his college in Hull and registered at the ''High School'' of the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

, an institution which he left only two years later to enter, in September 1935, the École technique de Hull which trained chemistry laboratory technicians at the time. He stayed there until graduation in 1939. Chaput claims to have become a partisan of the independence of Quebec as part of the Groupe Reboul while preparing for a public debate on the subject of ''separatism''. He and his team member Jacques Boulay had to argue ''for'' separatism in a debating contest against two comrades, Roland DompierreFather of famous Quebec musician

François Dompierre François Dompierre C.M. (born July 1, 1943) is a Canadian musician, songwriter and composer, best known as a composer of film scores.Dostaler O'Leary, old issues of the paper ''La Nation'' by

Paul Bouchard Paul Bouchard (1908–1997) was a Canadian ( Québécois) lawyer, right-wing politician, and journalist. Paul's parents were Bernadette Boulet Bouchard and Alfred Bouchard. He studied at the Séminaire de Québec from 1920 to 28. A family fr ...

, history books on the Patriots of the 19th century) convinced him of the merit of the idea in itself. He considered that he and the other pioneers of the contemporary movement for the independence of Quebec did nothing but update an idea that goes back to the British conquest of French Canada in 1760..

Technician

He had been working at the Eddy paper manufacture since May 1939 when the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

(NRC) of Canada granted him a job interview in the month of December of the same year. He was hired as chemistry laboratory aid to doctor Richard Helmuth Fred Manske for a salary of $70 CAD per month. Meanwhile, he was enrolled in the Canadian Army due to conscription.. In May 1941, he was mobilized at the Saint-Jérôme military camp. His training as a doughboy was interrupted when the federal government decided to employ all technicians in the war effort. He therefore returned to the NRC labs. He entered the service of the Canadian Army's ''Chemical Warfare Laboratories'' in January 1943. When he returned home to Hull at the end of the war, he was a

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...

Marriage

On September 15, 1945, he married Madeleine Dompierre, daughter of Odias Dompierre and Marie-Méa Marquis, at the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Catholic Church in Hull. The couple spent six days cruising on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

and

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. T ...

. Their first son, Luc, was born in the fall of 1946. Later came Danielle (1949), Sylvie (1952) and Jérôme (1955)..

Doctorate

In September 1946, he moved to ''Peterson Residence'', a disaffected aviation camp acquired by

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Lachine. The living conditions in the student's residence for married veterans were poor. After suffering from

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

, the doctor ordered his wife to leave the overheated rooms where the Chaput family was living and take some rest. Madeleine packed her things and returned to Marcel's parents in Hull, while he rented a room in Montreal in the neighbourhood of McGill. During his study years, he left Montreal for Hull every weekend to see his wife and children. He received his Ph.D. in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

from McGill University on October 6, 1952. His doctoral thesis was on

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

and the

alpha cells Alpha cells (α cells) are endocrine cells that are found in the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Alpha cells secrete the peptide hormone glucagon in order to increase glucose levels in the blood stream. Discovery Islets of Langerhans were ...

of the

pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...

Return to NRC

After receiving his Ph.D., he returned to Hull and began working for the NRC in Ottawa again. He initially resumed the same work he had been doing during the war, then transferred to the department of chemical research in Shirley Bay. In 1955, he transferred to the

Defence Research Board Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC; french: Recherche et développement pour la défense Canada, ''RDDC'') is a special operating agency of the Department of National Defence (DND), whose purpose is to provide the Canadian Armed Forces ...

, where he performed

operational research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...

. In October 1958, he signed a secret study entitled ''The Proportion of French-Canadian Soldiers in the Canadian Army''.. This study would have helped General Jean-Victor Allard to convince the federal government to create francophone units in the Canadian Army. He signed another study on the same subject in October 1960 The study is entitled ''A Study of Promotion Examination Results for French-Speaking and English-Speaking Canadian Army Infantry Officers'', Ottawa, MDN, CAORE Report number 110, October 1960 From 1953 to 1959, in parallel to his lab work, he completed the studies of a masters in psychology at the Institute of Psychology of the University of Ottawa.

Foundation of the RIN

After reading "Où va le Canada français? L'exercice de la pleine souveraineté est essentiel à l'épanouissement du Québec"Where is French Canada going? The exercise of full sovereignty is essential to the blooming of Quebec by

Raymond Barbeau Raymond Barbeau (June 27, 1930 – March 5, 1992) was a teacher, essayist, literary critic, political figure and naturopath. He was one of the early militants of the contemporary independence movement of Quebec. Barbeau was born in Montreal in ...

, interviewed by Jean-Marc Léger in ''Le Devoir'', Chaput was determined to enter into contact with Barbeau, founder of the Alliance laurentienne. Chaput invited Barbeau to hold a conference in Hull on August 28, 1959, in an old parish room of the Notre-Dame Church. Some twenty people were present. Chaput met André D'Allemagne at this time. Barbeau invited Chaput to give a short speech in the Saint-Stanislas room of Montréal on September 13, 1959 as part of a soirée organized to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

.. During that period, although his patriotic and charitable activities were numerous,In his native region of Outaouais of which Hull is one of the main towns, he founded or lead several organizations: the

Alliance française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

chapter of the Ottawa-Hull region, the Institut des sciences, the Société des conférences, the Emmaüs Movement, etc. — Chaput 2007, p. 254 his militant activity for independence was limited to writing letters in newspapers on the topic of the hour. He wanted to do much more. He wrote a memoir to the attention of the ''chancellerie'' of the Ordre de Jacques Cartier (OJC), a secret organization of which he was a member. In response to Chaput's initiative,

Pierre Vigeant Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...

, editorialist at ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'' and ''grand chancelier'' of the OJC, created a study committee on the question of independence of Quebec. Chaput was part of a group of five commissioners who gathered in Montreal in December 1959 and January 1960. As secretary to the commission, Chaput wrote the final report which concluded that French Canadians enjoy the

right to self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

and that members of the OJC should feel free to support independence if such was their political conviction. The direction of the OJC however remained closed to the idea of independence. On March 17, 1961, he was expelled from the secret organization after having insisted on learning the position of the Order on constitutional and political matters. On May 7, 1960, Chaput presided a meeting that received Raymond Barbeau as speaker at the Le Grenier theatre in Hull. Following the meeting, there were discussions on the possibility to form a Club Laurentie in Hull, but after reflecting on the matter for a while the small group of independence supporters in Hull decided to remain autonomous. On September 10, 1960, he took part with 20 other people to the foundation of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale (RIN) which took place at the Auberge Le Châtelet in

Morin Heights Morin-Heights is a town in the Laurentian Mountains region of Quebec, Canada. It is west of Saint-Sauveur and north of Lachute; municipally, it is within the Regional County Municipality of Les Pays-d'en-Haut. It is primarily a tourist town, ha ...

in the

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

. He was elected vice president of the RIN. After having participated in the organizing of a parade for independence in the streets of Montreal which took place on February 11, 1961, he gave a conference entitled ''Le Canada français à l'heure de la décision''French Canada at the Hour of Decision as part of a public meeting held at the Gesù on April 4, 1961, during a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

semi-final.Montreal lost 3 to 0 against Chicago and was taken out of the playof

/ref> The RIN rejoiced at being able to fill up a room under such circumstances.

Pierre Bourgault Pierre Bourgault (January 23, 1934 – June 16, 2003) was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereignty for Quebec ...

also gave a speech that night.. On May 23, 1961, he again spoke as part of a public meeting organized by the RIN, this time at the Ermitage in Montreal. His conference was entitled ''Quand deux nationalismes s'affrontent''.When Two Nationalisms Face Each Other

Suspension

Chaput's increasingly active involvement in public affairs did not fail to grab the attention of his employer, the federal government in Ottawa. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

, Douglas Fisher,

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

Member of Parliament for Port Arthur in Ontario, asked Minister of National Defense

Douglas Harkness Douglas Scott Harkness, (March 29, 1903 – May 2, 1999) was a Canadian politician. Early life and military service He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1929. He graduated from the University of Alberta, then far ...

about a certain doctor Chaput. Harkness was forced to admit that the Marcel Chaput, public speaker promoting the independence of Quebec was the same Marcel Chaput employed by his department.''Debates of the House of Commons of Canada (Hansard)'', 24th Parliament, 4th Session, question number 266, p. 3941 The Parliament of Canada took interest in his case again after some French-speaking MPs received invitations to attend a public meeting of the RIN announced for May 30, 1961 at the École normale de Hull. The day of the event, Chaput was called in the office of doctor Keyston, vice-president of the Defence Research Board, and was threatened with firing if he gave his talk. Knowing that Keyston did not have the powers to fire him, he decided the give his talk as planned.. He took three weeks of vacation during the summer and dedicated his free time to the writing of a book. On September 18, 1961, he launched the political essay ''Pourquoi je suis séparatiste'' at the Cercle universitaire de Montréal.. His book was published by Jacques Hébert of Éditions du Jour. It was translated into English as '' Why I Am a Separatist'' some months later. The general student association of

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

invited him to participate to the Canadian Affairs Conference, an event conducted under the honorary patronage of the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

. Several political figures gave speeches during the conference, among them

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from Quebec. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is o ...

Davie Fulton Edmund Davie Fulton, (March 10, 1916 – May 22, 2000) was a Canadian Rhodes Scholar, politician and judge. He was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of politician/lawyer Frederick John Fulton and Winnifred M. Davie, daughter of ...

and

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

. The talk Chaput was scheduled to give was on Friday November 17, a working day. He asked for a day off without pay, but Keyston, still his superior, refused. He was suspended from his research functions for two weeks – without pay – after he decided to attend the Canadian Affairs Conference anyway. On Monday December 4, 1961, day of his return to work after his suspension, he resigned.

President of the RIN

On October 28, 1961, shortly before he resigned his job, he was elected President General of the RIN during the organization's annual congress in Montreal. Under his presidency, the RIN gave itself an emblem, founded the journal ''L'indépendance'' and created a political committee which prepared the programme adopted by members during the annual congress of October 1962. On January 7, 1962, he quit Hull and settled in Montreal to maintain basic operations for the RIN. He continued to give talks here and there, usually with Pierre Bourgault. Although it never missed a chance to attack Premier Jean Lesage and all federalists in Quebec City or in Ottawa, the RIN adopted resolutions as part of a special congress on June 9 and 10 – to support the government of Quebec in its project to nationalize electricity companies. When during fall Jean Lesage announced there would be general elections on November 14, Chaput thought the time right to present himself as candidate for the RIN in the electoral district of Bourget. On September 30, the RIN took the unanimous decision to support his candidacy, but as an independent candidate, not as candidate of the RIN. The majority of RIN members did not think the time had come to turn their organization into a political party.. On Saturday October 20, during a congress held in the gymnasium of the Collège Mont-Saint-Louis, Guy Pouliot succeeded Chaput in the presidency of the RIN. Chaput remained an executive, but refused one of the two vice-presidencies he was offered. On November 14, 3,299 voters of Bourget supported Marcel Chaput, who improvised an electoral campaign with $2,500 CAD and dozens of volunteers. He was not elected Member of Parliament, but judged the experience instructive and useful to the independence movement. He proposed to the RIN the creation of a position of political organizer, but the council rejected his proposal, still of opinion that the time had not yet come to be active in the political arena. He decided to quit the RIN on December 17, 1962 in order to dedicate all his energies to the foundation of a pro-independence political party.

Foundation of the PRQ

On February 23, 1963, he called a press conference to announce the opening of the office of the Parti républicain du Québec (PRQ). The PRQ gave itself a constitution, a political programme and a journal, ''Le Républicain''. Chaput announced that the first congress of the PRQ would be held on March 16 and 17 at

Queen Elizabeth Hotel Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth (french: Fairmont Le Reine Élizabeth) is a historic grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With 950 rooms and 21 floors it is the largest hotel in the province of Quebec, and the second largest Fairmont hotel in ...

in Montreal.. On March 3, 1963, the RIN resolved to become a political party. On May 7, Raymond Barbeau announced in a press conference that he decided to dissolve the Alliance laurentienne to unite the strength of its members to that of the PRQ. In June, the PRQ permanent office moved from the 2nd floor of the old baseball stadium on rue de Lorimier to 4270, rue Papineau.

Hunger strikes

The PRQ rapidly accumulated a debt of $50,000 following the purchase of advertising time on television in April, May and June. To finance the party, Chaput took the decision to go on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

. He announced it publicly on July 8, 1963.. His first hunger strike lasted 33 days, from Monday July 8 to Saturday August 10, 1963. The PRQ's chest filled up with $100,000 CAD. He started a second fast on November 18, 1963. He interrupted it after 63 days, on January 21, 1964, at the insistence of his entourage and sympathizing journalists. The PRQ however only gained $20,000 with his second fast and consequently he resigned his position as party leader. During the period of his two fasts he often made the headlines and continued to be invited to give talks on the subject of independence for Quebec.

Seeking employment

After the dissolution of the PRQ on January 21, 1964, Chaput dedicated his time to searching for employment to support his family. Since his resignation as a civil servant in December 1961, he had been living on his own savings and an insufficient public service pension to meet the needs of his wife and children. The task of finding a new job turned out to be difficult and he held various non permanent jobs. His label of "separatist" closed many doors to him. Two insurance companies and one mutual fund company, though interested in him because of his notoriety, refused to hire him in the end because, he was told, the direction feared losing the Anglophone clientele. At the end of the March 1964, his friend Jacques Lamarche suggested he apply for a teaching position with the Fédération des collèges classiques. He never received an answer from the federation. Lamarche therefore invited him to join him at the journal ''Le Laissez Passer'' published by the

Conseil d'expansion économique Conseil may refer to: Government * Conseil d'État (disambiguation), various governments or governmental organizations * Conseil des Etats, the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland * Conseil de l'Entente, a West African regional ...

(CEE), at the time presided by Sarto Marchand and directed by

Bernard Tessier Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

. After much negotiation, the direction of the CEE accepted that Chaput collaborates in the journal, but under a pseudonym. Under the name Gilles Côté, he participated to the publication of two economic dossiers during the summer of 1964, the first on general insurance, the second on life insurance. The direction of the CEE eventually came under a new leadership who learned that Chaput was being employed by the organization. He was fired and never paid for the work he had already performed.. A sympathizer of the RIN, José Leroux, principal of the private Collège Valéry, offered him a position as teacher of biology and history. He taught part-time between September 1964 and spring 1965. He continued to search for a more stable employment the whole year but without success. On February 5, 1965, in a moment of discouragement, he addressed a public letter to the media to lament the fate Quebec society reserved to those who advocated independence. His letter had some effect. Interesting offers were made to him from outside Quebec, but he did not wish to live in exile. The only serious offer than was made to him from Quebec was that made by Doctor Elliot, one of his teachers at McGill University, who had since then become dean of the Department of Biochemistry, who offered him the direction of a research chair. He refused the job on principles, asserting he did not wish to work in English in Quebec, and also for pragmatic reasons, because he wished for a flexible schedule that would allow him to continue his militancy for independence in his spare time. In 1966, his wife entered the job market while he started studying naturopathy. It is only in 1968 that he found a permanent job through an association with Eugène Caraghiaur, with whom he founded Pétro-Montréal, a company delivering heating oil. He was shareholder, director and seller for this company until he his retirement in 1983. During the year 1965, he launched ''J'ai choisi de me battre: petite histoire très personnelle du séparatisme québécois, de Maurice Duplessis à Claude Wagner'', a book of 160 pages, published by Club du livre du Québec in Montreal.

Return to RIN

He returned to the RIN in August 1965, at the invitation of

, who was president of the party at the time. The RIN presented him as candidate in the electoral district of Papineau for the Quebec general election of 1966. He came in third behind Roland Théorêt of Union nationale and Bernard Desrosiers of the

Parti libéral du Québec The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

, with 2,504 votes (10.32%).Élections dans Papineau (1923–1973)
, in ''QuébecPolitique.com'', retrieved July 13, 2010 He continued as a simple militant of the party until its dissolution in October 1968.

Parti Québécois

In October 1968, two weeks after the founding congress of the

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), the members of the RIN gathered and voted the dissolution of their party. Most RIN militants became members of the PQ. Marcel Chaput was one of those who made that choice. He held a weekly editorial column in ''

Le Journal de Montréal ''Le Journal de Montréal'' is a daily French-language tabloid newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Quebec and is also the largest French-language daily newspaper in North America. ...

'' from 1968 to 1970. On December 11, 1969, he took part in the "manif anti-manif"Anti-demonstration demo organized by poet

Gaston Miron Gaston Miron (; 8 January 1928 – 14 December 1996) was an important poet, writer, and editor of Quebec's Quiet Revolution. His classic ''L'homme rapaillé'' (partly translated as ''The March to Love: Selected Poems of Gaston Miron'', whose ...

to denounce the municipal regulation forbidding public demonstrations in the streets of Montreal.A regulation promulgated on November 12, 1969. With several others, he was arrested by the police of Montreal and imprisoned. Regulation 3926, contested in court, was declared unconstitutional by the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...

, before being finally declared constitutional, several years later, by the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

.Dupond v. City of Montreal et al.
, in ''Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada'', LexUM, retrieved July 13, 2010 In the spring of 1970, he presented himself as candidate for nomination by the PQ in the electoral district of Maisonneuve. It was however

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

who won the nomination and was subsequently elected MNA on April 29. He held a political column entitled "''La comédie canadienne''" in the weekly ''Point de mire'' during the year 1971. He presented himself as candidate for nomination by the PQ in the electoral district of Terrebonne in 1973, but Guy Mercier was elected. Mercier did not however win a plurality of votes at the election of October 29. In 1975, he and his wife Madeleine received the first

Patriot of the Year A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

award given by the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

of Montréal. He was chief editor of''Ici Québec'' magazine in 1977.

Naturopathy

From 1968 to 1970, after receiving a Ph.D. in naturopathy from the Institut de naturopathie du Québec, he was a consultant at the Clinique naturiste de Montréal.Raymond Barbeau is founder of the Institut de naturopathie du Québec and the Clinique naturiste de Montréal During that period, he published the book ''L'école de la santé'' and in collaboration with chemist Tony Le Sauteur, ''Dossier pollution''. He was editor of ''La Santé'', a paper doing popular education on health matters.

Death

He suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at the end of his life. He died at Hôpital Jean-Talon in Montreal on January 19, 1991. His funeral took place at Église Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire in the

Villeray Villeray is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough and is situated in the north-central part of the Island of Montreal. Origin of the name The village of Villeray took its n ...

neighbourhood. André D'Allemagne pronounced a funeral oration to his memory on the day of his funeral. He was buried at the Notre-Dame de Hull cemetery on January 25, 1991..

Publications

;Essays * ''Pourquoi je suis séparatiste'' (1961) * ''Why I Am a Separatist'' (1962) * ''J'ai choisi de me battre: petite histoire très personnelle du séparatisme québécois de Maurice Duplessis à Claude Wagner'' (1965) * ''L'école de la santé'' (1969) * ''Dossier pollution'' (1971) with Tony LeSauteur * ''Les citations de René Lévesque'' (1977) with Jean Côté * ''Référendum de René Lévesque'' (1979) with Jean Côté ;Periodicals * ''L'indépendance'' (1962–1968) * ''Le Républicain'' (1963) * ''Ici Québec'' (1977–1978) ;Articles * "La révolution en marche", in ''L'Homme nouveau'' (1964) * "Les indépendantistes doivent-ils quelque chose à Duplessis?", in ''Ici Québec'' (1977) * "Par son génie musical, cet enfant devrait étonner le monde", in ''Ici Québec'' (1978) * "Référendum. Dossier spécial", in ''Ici Québec'' (1978) ;Other * ''Manifeste du Parti républicain du Québec'' (1963) * ''Mémoire présenté à titre personnel par Marcel Chaput au Comité parlementaire de la constitution'' (1964)

Distinctions

* 1975 –

award by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal * 1983 – Bronze medal of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois awarded by the SNQ of Outaouais * 1995 – A street of the former City of Hull (today

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

) was baptized in his honour

Reference notes

Explanatory notes

References

; Monographs * * * ; Articles, chapters * Mathieu Bock-Côté, "Marcel Chaput", in Robert Comeau, Charles-Philippe Courtois, Denis Monière (dir.), ''Histoire intellectuelle de l'indépendantisme québécois. Tome I. 1834–1968'', Montréal: VLB éditeur, 2010, p. 187–197. * Eve Morin Desrosiers,
Marcel Chaput (1918–1991) Homme de science, homme politique
, in ''Bilan du siècle'', Université de Sherbrooke * Serge Gaudreau,

, in ''Bilan du siècle'', Université de Sherbrooke ; Archive funds *

, Division des archives de l'Université de Montréal *
Fonds Marcel Chaput. 1959–1974 (P96)
, BAnQ *
Fonds Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale. 1960–1968 (P300)
, BAnQ * Boudreau, Lionel (1981). ''Répertoire numérique détaillé du Fonds du Parti républicain du Québec (P 65)''. Montréal: Service des archives, Université de Montréal, 17 p. ; Audio-Video *
Marcel Chaput, chimiste indépendantiste
, in ''Les Archives de Radio-Canada'', Société Radio-Canada. updated September 11, 2008. *

, in the site ''Harfang Québec'' ; Web site * Tony Le Sauteur,

, in the author's own site

External links

Excerpt of Why I Am a Separatist by Marcel Chaput
(alternative translation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaput, Marcel 1918 births 1991 deaths Quebec political party leaders Politicians from Gatineau Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian Army soldiers