Roger Lagassé

Roger Lagassé
Born Roger Joseph Marc Lagassé
July 15, 1956
Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes, Manitoba
Residence Welcome Woods, Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Citizenship Canadian
Education B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.
Alma mater U of Manitoba, U of Calagary, U of British Columbia
Occupation Teacher
Notable work Author of children's books
Political party New Democratic Party (1981)
Green Party of Canada (2000)
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (2003)
Liberal Party of Canada (2006)
Progressive Canadian Party (2011) Independent 2015
Religion Christian (Roman Catholic)
Children Three

Roger Lagassé has been district principal for indigenous education,[1] librarian, teacher and author.[2] He co-authored several French children's books published by Éditions des Plaines in Manitoba, Canada: la Petite jument blanche, 1981, Le Sorcier, 1986; Tit-Jean l'intrépide, 1993.[3] In 1990 he paddled a single kayak from Sechelt to Nanaimo, BC in the Save Georgia Strait Marathon to bring attention to environmental and nuclear weapons issues. He helped establish Tetrahedron Provincial Park and Spipiyus Provincial Park [4] and, as part of the Friends of Caren, helped find the first active marbled murrelet nest in Canada. Lagassé also planned and taught a Francophone public school online course in BC First Nations Studies for secondary school students in British Columbia starting in 2007. He also taught "Aboriginal Education in Canada" at the University of British Columbia in 2012.

1989 NDP leadership convention

In April 1989, Lagassé became the first person to announce that he would be a candidate in the 1989 New Democratic Party leadership election. The Toronto Star newspaper described him as a "political unknown," and Lagassé himself acknowledged that he was a fringe candidate. He honestly admitted that he did not believe he could run the country explaining to the journalist who asked if he honestly believed he could run the country that every citizen played an important role and no one individual could "run" Canada; in confirming his decision to run, he said that his primary purpose was to draw attention to global issues affecting children, particularly children starvation in the Third World.[5] At different times in the contest, he urged the NDP to focus on environmental issues and international threats, including an end to the military arms buildup, and called for a ban on radioactive nuclear materials in Canadian harbours. He indicated that he did not personally support abortion as a form of birth control and called for greater education on the issue. Throughout the campaign he sought to build bridges between pro-choice and pro-life factions, believing that there was enough common ground to work together to address the issue in a constructive manner. In his "Musings" column in the Vancouver Sun, University of Victoria political science instructor Terry Morley wrote "...But they are all missing a bet. Lagasse is fluently bilingual with interesting views. He believes that 'a child is a human being with consciousness and full human rights long before birth.' yet opposes the recriminaliztion of abortion. Most Canadians have this view." (article: "NDP's best hope isn't from Ottawa", Vancouver Sun September, 1989) [6][7] At one stage, he criticized the NDP for scheduling its leadership debates in posh hotels such as the Hotel Vancouver.[8]

According to an article by V. Sears, Lagassé financed much of his own campaign, spending only $7,916 in total.[9] But Lagassé actually received most of his funding through donations from NDP individual members and unions. He carried his pamphlets in a shopping bag, saved money by travelling across the country in a family van and by Greyhound, and often lodged in private homes with party members. (Other candidates also provided some assistance; Audrey McLaughlin helped him find accommodations and he accepted her invitation to dine at one of her fundraising dinners.) To his own amusement, he was nearly prevented from speaking at the leadership convention, not realizing until his arrival that he needed to be registered as a delegate.[10] Lagassé's signs at the convention were hand-drawn, and his campaign buttons simply featured the image of a tree and the words "Human Rights & Environment - Paix et développement"; he said that using his name would have been egotistical.[11]

Despite his fringe status, Lagassé was the only NDP leadership candidate who was fluent in both French and English; all others were anglophones with varying degrees of fluency in French.[12] He finished last on the first ballot of the convention with 53 votes out of 2,400 ballots cast; some of his support came from Quebec delegates who were disgruntled with other candidates' opposition to the Meech Lake Accord.[13] The winner, Audrey McLaughlin, pledged in her victory speech to draw inspiration from "Howard McCurdy's passion, Steven Langdon's intellect, Simon de Jong's compassion, Ian Waddell's wit and Roger Lagassé's heart."[14]

Lagassé was not a candidate in the 1993 Canadian federal election and, indeed, never contested an election as an NDP candidate. He abandoned the NDP when it supported the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in violation of grassroots voted policy to take Canada out of NATO.

Since 1989

Lagassé wrote an op-ed piece for the Globe and Mail in 1992, criticizing plans to scuttle HMCS Chaudière as an artificial reef in Sechelt Inlet, British Columbia. He argued that the ship would be structurally unsound if sunk as a wreck and would pose a danger to divers.[15]

He was a vocal opponent of Canada's participation in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, describing it as a "reversal of decades of peacemaking." In a letter to the Toronto Star newspaper, he said that he had "lost a lot of sleep knowing that the Belgrade grandparents of two of our local Grade 4 students were being bombed by Canada's air force."[16] He later opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and praised those Canadians who attempted to act as human shields to prevent the conflict.[17] In 2008, he wrote a piece in support of the Shministim, Israelis who chose to face jail time rather than carrying out mandatory military service.[18]

"I became a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in order to support David Orchard's 1998 and 2003 bids for the PC leadership and was elected by my local riding association to a policy convention in Edmonton and the leadership convention in Toronto. I supported Orchard on account of Orchard's commitment to anti-imperialism and because of Orchard's salt-of-the-Earth approach as an authentic prairie grain farmer, peace activist and author. I opposed the Canadian Alliance takeover of the PC Party and refused to join the resulting Conservative party. I later followed Orchard's lead and joined the Liberal party to support Stéphane Dion's 2006 leadership bid but quit after I was elected as a delegate to the 2009 Liberal leadership convention but was barred for refusing to support Michael Ignatieff." (Roger Lagassé, in Wikipedia February 24, 2014)

In the 2011 federal election he was the Progressive Canadian Party candidate in West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country coming in fifth in a field of nine candidates.[19] During the election, he called for Canadian troops to return home from what he described as "factional fighting" in Afghanistan, charging that the war had taken $100 million from his riding.[20] His antiwar, anti-imperialist campaign centered around bringing Canadian troops home and redirecting funds to public education, housing, health care and public transportation. The candidate of record later wrote a letter in the Coast Reporter where he supported an independent commission of inquiry into 911 stating: "The first casualty of war is truth and it’s obvious that the so-called War on Terror rests upon a “false flag” foundation."[21]

Lagassé is a solid supporter of the United Nations General Assembly. He supports the right of return of all Palestinian refugees in conformity with UN resolutions. He believes peace and equal human rights in the Middle East can be achieved through a Truth and Reconciliation process akin to the South African model.

References

  1. ↑ "Aboriginal Contacts – Basic Information", British Columbia Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education, Canada), retrieved 4 July 2010 External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ↑ Ian Jacques (15 April 2011). Riding candidates now confirmed. The Chief Website, retrieved 27 August 2011
  3. ↑ Morcos, Gamila. Dictionnaire des artistes et des auteurs francophones de l'ouest canadien, 1998, Presses de l'Université Laval et la Faculté Saint-Jean
  4. ↑ "Spipiyus Provincial Park", About This Park (British Columbia Parks), retrieved 5 December 2010 External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. ↑ "B.C. teacher bids to lead NDP," Toronto Star, 10 April 1989, A9; "Teacher enters NDP race," Toronto Star, 1 August 1989, C6; Thomas Walkem, "NDP leadership candidates practice art of the ordinary," Toronto Star, 15 October 1989, A22.
  6. ↑ "Barrett tags Bourassa 'hypocrite' again," Globe and Mail, 7 October 1989, C5; "Bilingual Lagasse urges nuclear ban," Toronto Star, 15 October 1989, A22; Graham Fraser, "NDP leadership picture still fuzzy as candidates conclude debates ," Globe and Mail, 16 October 1989, A10.
  7. ↑ "Pro-abortionists organize", The Interim, 26 November 26, 1989.
  8. ↑ "Gloves off as NDP leadership hopefuls slam Langdon," Toronto Star, 11 September 1989, A9.
  9. ↑ Val Sears, "McLaughlin spent $80,432, McCurdy second at $47,213," Toronto Star, 3 December 1989, A11.
  10. ↑ Hugh Winsor, "Low profile dogs leadership hopeful De Jong looks forward to being a force at convention ," Globe and Mail, 28 November 1989, A4; Tim Harper, "NDP candidates are further apart than they appear," Toronto Star, 29 November 1989, A23; Geoffrey York, "Mixup symbolic of B.C. teacher's modest campaign," Globe and Mail, 1 December 1989, A11.
  11. ↑ Val Sears, "NDP goes upscale for '90s," Toronto Star, 2 December 1989, A1.
  12. ↑ Tim Harper, "Dave Barrett set to enter NDP's leadership race," Toronto Star, 27 September 1989, A13.
  13. ↑ Alan Freeman, "Afternoon of alliances, betrayal catapulted McLaughlin to power," Globe and Mail, 4 December 1989, A10.
  14. ↑ Carol Goar, "Raw leader must soar to prevent NDP losses," Toronto Star, 3 December 1989, A1.
  15. ↑ Roger Lagassé, "B.C. should scrap plan to scuttle ship" [editorial], Globe and Mail, 28 November 1992, D7.
  16. ↑ Roger Lagassé, "Why didn't we question bombing of Serb civilians?" [letter], Toronto Star, 3 August 1999, p. 1.
  17. ↑ Roger Lagassé, "Blessed are the peacemakers from Canada" [letter], Ottawa Citizen, 19 January 2003, A16.
  18. ↑ "Shministim deserve praise for resisting" [letter], Toronto Star, 10 January 2009, AA07.
  19. ↑ Jacques, Ian, "Riding candidates now confirmed", Coast Reporter, 16 September 2013.
  20. ↑ Jeremy Shepherd, "West Vancouver candidates on campaign trail; Issues and ideology divide Kay Meek Centre meeting," North Shore News, 20 April 2011.
  21. ↑ Lagassé, Roger, Coast Reporter, 16 September 2011.
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