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Crime in the national interest

Crime in the national interest I understood that he (DGIS John Starnes) had been directed by them (Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Solicitor General Jean-Pierre Goyer) to see that the FLQ was put to sleep or,…

The Trap is Set

Basel, Switzerland, the first week of May, 1969. A Renault car heads East along Elsässerstrasse toward St Louis, where it crosses into France, and takes the N66. Destination London, with a stop in Paris. The…

Passport to Heaven

As introduced in Blood Simple – the Last Known Address, and Sky with Diamonds, the travels of two DEFLQ members, Normand Roy and Denyse Leduc, are of particular interest. The visa stamps on the misdirected…

The blond assassin

The Blond Assassin My inquiries into the death of Mario Bachand had begun with a moment of serendipity, late one evening in the reading room of Library and Archives Canada. I had been reading testimony…

The Deputy Minister Speaks

Two rules of investigation The first rule of investigation, Anything can happen. The second rule, Anything includes the gifts of Serendipity, a gift that, however small and insignificant it might appear to be, might well…

Map of the Problem Situation

Map of the Problem Situation The assassination of Mario Bachand was one event in a large collection of events, a system. Identifying the killers – those who shot Mario Bachand to death that day in…

Sky with Diamonds

On the 22nd of December, 1970, a letter and a package, sent by a Canadian diplomat in Algers, the capital of Algeria, arrived at External Affairs headquarters in Ottawa. The package held two Canadian passports….

The RCMP knows everything

Several months after beginning my enquiries into the murder of Mario Bachand, I was living in Vancouver, returning to Ottawa from time to time to submit requests, at National Archives, under the Access to Information…

The Foreign Delegation in Jordon

In early 1970, Jordon was home to several thousand Palestinian refugees, and therefore to the Palestinian guerrilla movements. The most important of these was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the PFLP. In…

Hide the Dagger with a Smile

A cover story It is not enough to kill someone, one must conceal the fact, if possible. If not possible, one must construct a narrative to lead investigators astray. An accident; an extremely difficult to…

Trouvé mort (Found dead)

The following document, which we will closely examine in subsequent posts, provides rare insight into how the cover story for an assassination, like that of Mario Bachand, is constructed and disseminated. By necessity, the media…

Mario Bachand the Activist

On the afternoon of 16 October 1968, ten thousand students from the University of McGill, CEGEP Vieux-Montréal and l’Ecole des Beaux Arts demonstrate support of striking CEGEP (Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel) students. They march…

The intoxicating Anne Legaré

Robert Comeau and the assassination of Mario Bachand – a matter of deception Des doutes sur deux étudiants québécois Dans son récit, McLoughlin sème le doute quant à une possiblecomplicité, dans l’assassinat, de deux étudiants…

Interview of Mario Bachand

In 1966, Mario Bachand was interview for the program Ni Ange, ni Bête of Radio Canada, Montreal. The interviewer was the well-known and excellent journalist Judith Jasmin. Bachand remarks reveal much about his personality, character,…

The Isdal Woman and Mario Bachand

While conducting research on the Mario Bachand assassination, which lead up with the publication of “Last Stop, Paris”, I conducted many interviews, in Canada and abroad. Many were of retired intelligence officers, and others from…

Into the Labyrinth

I awoke with a start, the first light of the morning seeping through the curtains. My first thought, “How did I end up in Paris, investigating a 25 year-old unsolved murder?” Karma, foolishness, or both….