Bernard Lortie
Bernard Lortie (born
c.1951) of
Montreal, Quebec,
Canada was a member of the
Chenier Cell of the
Front de Libération du Quebec (FLQ)
terrorist group who were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberiers in the
Province of Quebec.
During what became known as the
October Crisis, on October 5, 1970 members of the FLQ's
Liberation Cell kidnapped the
British Trade Commissioner
James Cross, from his Montreal home as part of a violent attempt to overthrow the elected government and to establish a
socialist Quebec state independent of
Canada. On October 10, Bernard Lortie, along with Chenier Cell leader
Paul Rose and his brother,
Jacques Rose, and
Francis Simard,
kidnapped and then
murdered Quebec
Vice Premier and Cabinet Minister,
Pierre Laporte. Believing many others would follow in an uprising, their goal was to create an independent state based on the ideals of
Fidel Castro's Cuba.
On
November 6, 1970, Bernard Lortie was arrested when the police raided the hiding place of the
FLQ's Chenier cell. Although the other three members escaped the raid, they were later captured in St-Luc, Quebec in late December. All four members were charged with the kidnapping and murder of
Pierre Laporte. For his part in the kidnapping and murder, Bernard Lortie was sentenced to 20 years in jail. He was granted parole by the Canadian Parole Board after seven years.
