The memory of 94-year-old Claude Morin remains unchanged, as do his intellectual abilities that made him an essential part of Quebec’s contemporary history.
The one who advised five prime ministers and was the father of etapism, which led to the election of the first government of René Lévesque in 1976, has been considered a traitor by part of his clan for 31 years after the journalist Normand Lester revealed that he was at least until In 1977, when he was minister of intergovernmental affairs in the Lévesque cabinet, he had been a paid informant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The documentary series Claude Morin: A Dangerous Game, out this Tuesday on Vrai, focuses on this exciting time in our history.
What information would the man with the nickname Sphinx have passed on to the secret department of the Federal Police? Was this cultured and educated man a sovereigntist by day, working in secret to undermine his efforts to make Quebec a state?
Journalist Antoine Robitaille with Claude Morin. PHOTO PROVIDED BY VRAI
When Morin interviewed Claude Morin for the series “The Last Felquist” in 2019, he dropped a bombshell when he said he had detailed his exchanges with the RCMP in notebooks. Antoine Robitaille, who was accompanied on this project by the journalist and historian Dave Noël, finally had access to the notebooks for this new series directed by Flavie Payette-Renouf and produced by Babel Films and Productions Déferlantes in collaboration with Quebecor Content .
“He enjoyed playing the secret agent, especially against the USSR and the communist countries, but I seriously believe that he did not do it to deceive or cause his side to fail, because without the trapism it would have “There was no Lévesque government,” says Antoine Robitaille.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY VRAI
Gray areas
Mr. Robitaille, political columnist for the Journal and presenter at radio station QUB, does not hide the fact that gray areas remain regarding Claude Morin’s involvement in the federal government.
In 1974, approximately thirty meetings took place between the RCMP and Mr. Morin, netting the principal $20,000, the equivalent of nearly $90,000 today.
“Mr. Morin’s role in this matter has been greatly exaggerated. He fought for Quebec’s autonomy all his life, but he played a dangerous game, hence the title of our series. »
Was Claude Morin naive or even vain when he believed he was stronger than the RCMP? Since 1992, he has been telling anyone who will listen that he used the federal police — not the other way around — to learn more about Ottawa’s intentions regarding the Parti Québécois.
Journalists Dave Noël and Antoine Robitaille host the documentary series “Claude Morin: a dangerous game”, which will be released on Tuesday September 19th on the Vrai platform. PHOTO PROVIDED BY VRAI
Espionage and interference
There is also talk of espionage – from France and Russia – in the four episodes, which is still relevant given the suspicion of Chinese interference in the recent federal elections.
Note that the RCMP has refused to disclose its notes related to the team’s meetings with Claude Morin, citing state security.
“We would like to know what the RCMP learned from the meetings with Claude Morin,” said Antoine Robitaille. I have the version of a well-informed source within the RCMP that corroborates Mr. Morin’s statements, namely that he never revealed any secrets and that the RCMP even terminated the agreement for that reason because we found that he did not said a lot. »
Antoine Robitaille is preparing a book about the Claude Morin affair, which will expand the content of the documentary series even further.