CHIBOUGAMAU | A difficult childhood and a keen interest in conspiracy theories may explain why Brian Paré lit 14 fires last summer that forced the evacuation of hundreds of Nord-du-Québec citizens.
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In her Chibougamau kitchen, Gabrielle Veilleux Boutet, the mother of one of the worst arsonists in Quebec history, was still in shock as her son pleaded guilty to 13 counts of arson and another charge of arson with disregard for human life, although he had sworn to her that he was innocent.
“It is extremely difficult to accept. It seems like I'm not aware of this yet. Brian already had some problems, but I never thought he could do it,” she admits in an interview with Le Journal.
Arsonist Brian Paré's mother, Gabrielle Veilleux Boutet, worries about her son's future on the day he is released from prison. She believes many people still hold grudges against her because her actions endangered the lives of hundreds of people. PHOTO Vincent Desbiens
Among the fires ignited in Paré, the Lake Cavan fire ignited on May 31 caused no less than 872 hectares of damage and also forced almost half of the population of Chapais to evacuate their homes.
With a trembling voice, his mother recalled the painful events of the last few months, which ended with her son's guilty plea at the Chibougamau courthouse on January 15.
“I had a heart attack in January 2023 and was thinking about having another one when my son was arrested in September. He told me he didn't do those things. He said to me, “Mom, I've never set anything on fire.” Then he told the police the opposite. I can’t believe he lied to me.”
“There is always a reason”
According to his mother, Brian Paré has suffered from severe anxiety problems since childhood. She believes the context of domestic violence in which he was born and the “difficult childhood” that followed have something to do with the numerous legal problems he has faced for more than 15 years.
Brian Paré's mother and her husband helped the 38-year-old buy this home in 2021. He experienced several legal setbacks related to neighbor disputes. Vincent Desbiens
“I don’t want to excuse his actions, not at all. It is very, very serious and it hurts me enormously. On the other hand, I think it's important to tell people that it's not a coincidence. There is always a reason,” argues Ms. Veilleux.
She says her son only spent school holidays and summers in Chibougamau and attended his father's school in Saint-Hyacinthe until he came of age.
“When he came here he was good and it showed. Brian is a shy and lonely boy who really loves wood. He was with my husband the whole time,” she claims.
Fan of conspiracy theories
During a seven-hour interrogation by the Sûreté du Québec following his arrest on September 7, Brian Paré claimed that the main motivation for his crimes was to “conduct tests to find out whether the forest was really dry or not.”
“With COVID, it seems like he sees conspiracies everywhere,” his mother admits. We tried to reason with him I don't know how many times. To explain to him that the government is not trying to control us, that there is no new world order. But he has a very hard head. Things got worse with the forest fires, he was convinced things were being hidden from us.”
A few days before his incendiary madness began, Brian Paré shared messages with numerous conspiracy theories on social networks. Screenshot from Brian Parés Facebook
His mother had long noticed that he was paranoid and distrustful of others, “but things have been getting worse for some time,” she says.
A colleague of the arsonist from Entretien industrial Éco, a subcontractor of the Barrette-Chapais sawmill, Éric Asselin, agrees. He describes Paré as a “very special” man and that he has noticed changes in his behavior.
What they said:
“In the spring he would always look at the maps to see how the fires were developing and that stressed him out a lot. He was talking nonsense. He believed that the government didn't want us to go into the forest because fires were being set there to open lithium mines. He showed us videos every lunchtime and talked about them.”
– Éric Asselin, colleague of Brian Paré at Entretien industrial Éco
“He was in the forest the whole time. He was good there. There wasn’t much we could have done to prevent that.”
– Éric Corbin, owner of Entretien industrial Éco
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