On the one-year anniversary of the plane crash that killed former politician and political pundit Jean Lapierre, the city of Montreal announced it would name a square or park in his honour.
Mayor Denis Coderre made the announcement on Wednesday morning, saying the space would be in Outremont — likely somewhere near his home.
Lapierre represented Outremont in the House of Commons, having been elected as a Liberal in 2004. He stepped down three years later. Before that, he spent 14 years as a member of Parliament for the Shefford riding — both as a Liberal and as a founding member of the Bloc Québécois.
He spent the last decade of his life as one of Quebec's most sought-after and beloved political pundits, working for several media outlets in both English and French, including at CJAD 800, where he appeared twice daily — once with Andrew Carter at 7:40, and then with Aaron Rand at 5:35.
Lapierre was killed, along with his wife, three siblings, and two pilots, when his charter plane crash-landed at the airport in his native Iles de la Madeleine.
They were heading there for the funeral of Lapierre's father, Raymond, who had died days earlier.
There are other initiatives underway to honour Lapierre's memory across Quebec. CAQ MNA François Bonnardel has put forward a proposal to rename a 60 km stretch of highway 112 in Lapierre's honour. The road cuts through parts of his old Shefford riding.
A decision on that now rests with Quebec's toponymy commission.