Pierre Mailloux, nicknamed “Doc Mailloux,” has died. The psychiatrist, a controversial figure in the Quebec media, breathed his last in Trois-Rivières on Friday morning at the age of 74.
He suffered from a kidney infection last year and “passed away peacefully,” according to a short online message left online by his microphone partner Josey Arsenault.
The Quebec public discovered his iconic gray beard, his professor's glasses, his lame gait (he had lost a leg in a car accident) and, above all, his outspokenness in the 1980s, when he played the role of an expert in the trial of Denis Lortie . His training as a psychiatrist and his strong opinions got him in front of the microphones until he got his own show on CKAC in 1995.
Over the years, Doc Mailloux collects as many escapades as he attracts public attention. He is a guest on almost every television to hear him talk about child abuse, mental illness, sex and ultimately all current social issues. His rough style sometimes veers into the vulgar, as in 2007, when an interview that was supposed to be broadcast on Télé-Québec was never broadcast due to middle fingers thrown around. “I can actually be vulgar. “Vulgarity allows us to say a lot of things that we wouldn’t be able to say otherwise,” he then said, defending himself.
But in 2005, the “Doc” crossed the line on the set of the series “Tout le monde en parole”. He announces to hundreds of thousands of viewers that studies show that “the IQ of Blacks and Native Americans.” [est] significantly less than 100 inches. That's too much for the medical association. For these comments, the psychiatrist was banned from professional conduct for five years in 2012, a decision that was reversed by the professional court two years later.
This controversy does nothing to silence the media monster from Lac-Saint-Jean, who studied medicine at Laval and McGill universities. Pierre Mailloux feels no regrets, on the contrary, he multiplies his hobbyhorses over the years. Although he was written off several times throughout his career, he never finally lost public attention. The doctor's professional code is “tough” in his case, says the person most affected, who often defends himself alone before the judges. He went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to seek compensation, but was unsuccessful.
His fixed ideas captivate the population as much as they divide them. This is how “feminized men,” his obsession with “Arab culture,” and “enlightened” social workers fall under his intellectual knife. He also wrote several books to summarize his thoughts: For the voluntary castration of pedophiles, For the help of women, For the education of your children, please do not humiliate them, etc.
When he was approached by the Conservative Party of Canada to enter politics in 2006, he declined the offer because he refused to comply with Parliament's dress code. “I will never be forced to wear a tie while Sikhs have the freedom to wear their cloak in the House of Commons,” this non-conformist figure, incapable of restricting his freedom of expression, will offer as an explanation.
However, on Friday his voice fell silent. Doc Mailloux's family has indicated that they want to “experience the next steps in complete privacy” and will not grant interviews.