Psychiatrist and media commentator Pierre Mailloux, better known by the nickname Doc Mailloux, died on Friday at the age of 74 in Trois-Rivières after receiving medical assistance in dying.
The news of his death was announced on the Doc Mailloux & Josey page! on X, late in the morning.
“The family of Dr. Pierre Mailloux (the doctor) announces his death today. He died peacefully after an incurable illness,” it said.
His friend, journalist Réjean Tremblay, also confirmed this in a publication on BPM Sports and gave some details.
“This morning at 11 a.m. the doctor discreetly received medical assistance in dying. “He was in hospital in Trois-Rivières for more than three weeks trying to treat the devastating consequences of a degenerated kidney infection,” he emphasized.
“The last words I said to him yesterday afternoon were very simple: 'I love you.' He answered me like Doc Mailloux: 'It's quite obvious. Hello, Doctor,'” Mr Tremblay added.
On January 8, the team of the podcast “Doc Mailloux and Josey – Free and Without Taboos” announced on its social networks that “the medical situation of our beloved national troublemaker, Doc Mailloux, has unfortunately rapidly deteriorated in recent days.”
“He's not getting better. He is still in the hospital. I'm sorry to inform you that the Doc will not be returning to our show,” his co-host Josey Arsenault commented in an excerpt broadcast online.
- Listen to the interview with Réjean Tremblay, good friend of Doc Mailloux, on Benoit Dutrizac's show via QUB :
Productive commentator
Doc Mailloux, both psychiatrist and media personality, left no Quebecer indifferent with his flights of fancy that had the ability to make some shudder and others applaud.
After receiving his diploma in psychiatry and his military service, Pierre Mailloux became known to the general public by testifying as an expert in the trial of Corporal Denis Lortie, who killed three people in front of the Quebec Parliament.
Pierre Mailloux's life was turned upside down when he was hit by a car in 1988. The accident led to the amputation of his left leg.
Doc Mailloux's media career began in the '90s with the show “Un psy à l'oreille” on CKAC, which aired for a dozen years. One thing led to another and the colorful character worked on numerous shows, mainly at TQS (which became V, then Noovo) and at TVA, but also at Radio-Canada.
A regular at controversy… and the disciplinary board
During an interview with “Everyone is talking about it”, it was also on the air of the state-owned company that Doc Mailloux experienced probably his worst controversy. He then claimed that a study showed that black and indigenous people had a lower IQ than average, which caused a stir.
This remark notably earned him a five-year ban ordered by the College of Physicians in 2012. The conviction was overturned in 2014 and replaced with a $5,000 fine.
After graduating as a psychiatrist, Doc Mailloux appeared frequently before the disciplinary council of the College of Physicians, among other things for his comments in the media, but also for prescribing high doses of antipsychotics to young people.
He was disbarred seven times, losing his license to practice law for a total of 21 months.
The psychiatrist attempted to demonstrate the College of Physicians' bad faith toward him with a $10 million lawsuit, but it was dismissed by the appeals court in 2021. Doc Mailloux had tried to present his case to the Supreme Court, but it refused to hear it in 2022.
Over the years, Dr. Pierre Mailloux sparked further controversy, whether by calling former Saguenay mayor Jean Tremblay “crazy,” by arguing that former Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty lacked masculinity, or by claiming That some women like to be beaten by their partners in order to benefit from it.
For the past decade, Doc Mailloux had focused his media career on radio stations in Quebec, particularly collaborating with radio in what would become “Doc Mailloux and Josey – Free and Without Taboos” on the Internet.