Claude Poirier (born October 26, 1938, in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) is a negotiator and crime reporter for the

-based Canadian French-language television network

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

. He is best known for negotiating with suspects during hostage situations. Poirier's 60-year career as a crime reporter started in 1960 when he covered a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

. He continued to do the job for several months without receiving a salary. Soon after, he reported on the

assassinations Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of U.S. president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and his brother

Robert Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

as well as

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

In Quebec, he covered the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and subsequent murder of former Quebec Liberal Minister of Labor

Pierre Laporte Pierre Laporte (; 25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FL ...

, by the FLQ militant group in 1970. He has, perhaps unwillingly, nicknamed the RCMP (Gendarmerie Royale du Canada in French) la "Genmarderie Royale du Canada" ("marde" is a slang term for excrement in French). Rumour has it that he does it on purpose because of a grudge he has against them. Due to such events, he is often portrayed in comedy sketches. During his career Poirier has participated in numerous inquiries and trials as an expert and as a witness. He covered the widely publicized

biker gang An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purpo ...

war that broke out in Quebec during the 1990s as well as trials in notorious murder or crime cases such as the trial of several biker gang members arrested during a province-wide

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

operation called "Printemps 2001" which significantly reduced their criminal activities around the province. During hostage situations or similar events, criminals often asked police for a negotiation with Poirier. In August 2007, he was heavily involved over the well-publicized case of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Cédrika Provencher, in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, in a possible case of abduction. Poirier received the Medal of Bravery from the Canadian government in 1977. The Quebec government has honoured him five times during his career. Today, Poirier still comments on recent crime cases or cold ones on the

TVA Nouvelles TVA Nouvelles is the news division of TVA, a French language television network in Canada. Programs produced by the division include nightly local and national newscasts branded as ''TVA Nouvelles'', as well as the news magazine program ''JE' ...

broadcast at 5:00 p.m. EDT on weekdays and during the LCN morning show. During his commentary, he also discusses the judicial system as well as federal or provincial laws related to crime measures such as

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

, prison sentences and related matters. He is also the host of ''Le Vrai Négociateur'' on LCN, a 60-minute show that discusses various cases involving the juridical system in Quebec or Canada as well as various crime or disappearance cases. Poirier also played an important role in the production of the television series "Le Negociateur" which aired in 2005. The second season began on October 23, 2006, on the TVA television network. The series features well-known figures in Quebec culture such as Elvis Gratton star actor

Julien Poulin Julien Poulin (; April 20, 1946 – January 4, 2025) was a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He portrayed numerous roles in several popular Quebec films and series. Elvis Gratton films His most memorable role was El ...

, Frederick de Grandpré,

Pierre Curzi Pierre Curzi (born February 11, 1946, in Montreal, Quebec) is an actor, screenwriter and politician in Quebec. He is a former Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the riding of Borduas in the Montérégie region south of Montrea ...

, Les Boys actors Serge Thériault and Roc Lafortune, 2004

Star Académie ''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sens ...

winner Stephanie Lapointe and

Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge (born February 28, 1976) is a Canadian actor and film producer best known for major roles in Quebec films ''Nitro'' and ''The 3 L'il Pigs (Les 3 p'tits cochons)'' in 2007. Profile After participating in a first comme ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poirier, Claude 1938 births Living people Journalists from Montreal Crime journalists Canadian male journalists