The final days of TVA journalist Gaétan Girouard, a popular media personality whose suicide shocked the province in January 1999, were those of a tormented man who nonetheless refused to ask for help.
His relatives painted a disturbing and touching portrait of the life of this pioneering journalist who always strived for perfection in the documentary “Gaétan Girouard: onde de choc,” broadcast on TVA on Thursday evening.
Gaétan Girouard, a prominent figure in the media and on the show “JE”, who on the surface was afraid of nothing, hid his demons deep inside.
“A few years ago, I think he was 15-16 years old, he had already thought about suicide. Gilles Dion, his best friend, found him quite depressed in his department,” his widow Natalie Préfontaine told presenter and producer Jean-Philippe Dion.
The last days reveal
In the last months and days of his life, Gaétan Girouard gradually collapsed, but without seeking help except from his family doctor, who diagnosed him with depression without telling anyone.
On November 30, he participated in election night coverage, an exercise that he found particularly difficult. Two weeks later, he passed out while taping an episode of “JE.”
However, six days before his suicide, Gaétan Girouard held a conference. “If you look at the conference, if you look at Gaétan's dynamics, we don't have the impression at all, absolutely not at all, that this guy is going to commit suicide a few days later,” emphasized his work partner Jocelyne Cazin.
Two days before he took his own life, he had opened up somewhat to his colleague. “He told me, ‘Tse Jocelyne, I can’t afford anything. “I can’t afford to be sick, I can’t allow myself to stutter, I can’t allow myself to be imperfect,” she recalled.
Then, the next day, his partner traveled to Quebec to be with him. “He was so cold that he was shaking. He hadn't slept for so many days that his body couldn't get back on track,” she said. As he left, he appeared to try to say something to Natalie Préfontaine before changing his mind and settling for “Have a nice day.”
On January 14th, Gaétan Girouard did not show up for work, which worried his colleagues and his partner, who had already been alarmed in the previous days. His body was discovered shortly afterwards.
Follow
The announcement of Mr. Girouard's death sparked a wave of suicides in Quebec.
“We knew about this phenomenon, the possibility of a ripple effect, and that was indeed the case,” commented Marc-André Dufour, clinical psychologist.
The year 1999 ended with a 15% increase in suicide rates in the province. In several cases, people in distress have even acted in the same way as Gaétan Girouard, or in possession of a photo or a newspaper article discussing the journalist's death.
This event changed the way the media reported suicide cases. “For the media there is a before and after of Gaétan Girouard's suicide. Fortunately, we were able to learn from it,” emphasized Marc-André Dufour.
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