Michel Auger (27 June 1944 – 31 October 2020) was a Canadian journalist. He was a crime reporter with ''

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. ...

'', and he spent 42 years in journalism, starting out as a freelancer before becoming well known for covering

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, including years of strife between rival

motorcycle gang An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

s in the 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 ...

. In 2000, he was shot six times in the back during an attack outside the newspaper office.

Career

As a young reporter in his home province of

, Auger started off freelancing stories, but gravitated towards crime reporting, where he made his mark on the journalism industry as a reporter who could communicate with both the police and the criminal element in the pursuit of stories. Over the years, he wrote on topics including the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

, union corruption associated with

André Desjardins André "Dédé" Desjardins (4 July 1930 – 27 April 2000) was a Canadian union official noted for his involvement with organized crime. Desjardins served as the president of the ''Conseil des métiers de la construction'' () and vice-president o ...

, criminal gangs and other topics, including the long and bloody conflict through the 1990s between rival Quebec motorcycle gangs, the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

and the

Rock Machine The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club (RMMC) or Rock Machine is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It has twenty one Canadian chapters spread across seven provinces. It also has nine chapters in the ...

. In the midst of that conflict, around 11 a.m. on 13 September 2000, Auger was in the ''Le Journal'' parking lot when an assailant came up behind him and shot him six times in the back. Despite his wounds, Auger was able to call 911 and summon help, and eventually recovered from the injuries, although doctors were unable to remove three of the bullets. Police have continued to investigate the shooting, but have not made any arrests. Auger also written several books on crime and crime reporting, including his memoirs, ''The Biker Who Shot Me'' and The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime with Peter Edwards. Auger's work was recognized with a number of awards, including one from the

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and co ...

, the

National Newspaper Association The National Newspaper Association (NNA) is a Pensacola, FL based non-profit newspaper trade association founded in 1885. The organization has over 2,300 members, making it the largest newspaper trade association in the United States. The organiza ...

and the Quebec government. On 28 August 2006, Auger announced his retirement from daily reporting. He continued to write columns, as well as work on television projects and more books. On 31 October 2020, Auger died of pancreatitis.

External links

Canadian Association of Journalists statement regarding the attack on Auger

Ryerson Review of Journalism article regarding the Auger shooting and its effect on editors assigning reporters to stories

References

1944 births 2020 deaths French Quebecers Journalists from Quebec Shooting survivors {{canada-journalist-stub