Zainab Al-Mehdar
Pontiac May 25, 2022
He was described as a charismatic leader, a kind soul and a true gentleman. He was committed to everything he did and at the core of it all was helping people. He advocated for social justice and was a strong advocate for the Indigenous community. Robert Bertrand was a passionate, kind and honest man to his friends and family.
Robert “Bob” Bertrand was the . . .
husband of Sandra (née Leblanc) for 43 years, and father to Chad, Eric and Stephanie.
Born in 1953 in Fort-Coulonge, Bertrand was the son of the late Louis Bertrand and the late Estelle Lacroix. He was proud of his roots and no matter where his job took him he always came back home to serve his community.
Bertrand was described as a jack of all trades, he started his career being a forest firefighter, then worked in the insurance field. But his passion was getting into politics.
Whatever field it was he often did things with the intention of serving his community, “that’s what made him happy in life,” said his son Eric.
On May 17 he passed away due to cancer with his family by his side at the Pontiac Hospital at the age of 69.
During his life, Bertrand also served as the Pontiac MP. He represented the riding, which was then known as Pontiac–Gatineau–Labelle, for the federal Liberals from 1993 to 2004.
Bertrand was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993, under Jean Chrétien. He won another two campaigns in 1997 and 2000, and also served as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of National Defence from 1998 to 2000. Although he tried to run again in 2004, he lost the Liberal nomination to David Smith.
During the May 18 Council of Mayors meeting, Pontiac MNA André Fortin said he was respected wherever he was.
“He knew where he was from and he knew why he was in a certain place. He never forgot who he was. He always fought for the people of this region, and I think that’s a big part of the heritage that he left to people who took his place afterwards,” said Fortin.
Warden Jane Toller said he was a true Pontiacer, who loved this region. Some of the things she will remember of him are his big smile and his interest in everything the MRC did.
He later went on to serve as Grand Chief of the Native Alliance of Quebec and National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP). Having a political background, he was a great asset, as he knew how things operated in government and was able to push for different issues, noted Eric.
During his time as Chief in CAP, Bertrand was a catalyst in the file on Daniel’s Decision – a 17-year-long legal battle with the federal government that cemented Ottawa’s responsibility for Métis and Non-Status Indegenous peoples.
“He was very instrumental in making sure that the Daniel’s Decision case, kept alive and then after he became national chief, he was very instrumental in moving the case forward,” said Jim Devoe, chief executive officer for CAP.
THE EQUITY spoke to Devoe, who was a close friend of Bertrand, and worked closely with him for many years.
“I believe, in my opinion, he was a charismatic leader, he was an MP for over 11 years and so he had a really good way of working with politicians in trying to open their eyes to the reality of what needed to be done,” said Devoe.
Although there are still many challenges, Devoe acknowledges that in his four years as Chief, Bertrand moved the needle forward to a point where they can continue the discussion.
Politicians are criticized for not being honest or for being manipulative but Bertrand was far from that, he was a kind person who cared about people and the issues they faced explained Devoe.
The way he showed up for his community was by ensuring their rights were recognized, and thats how he honored his heritage, he noted.
He was the type of person who made the people around him feel good about themselves that they wanted to do good work, thats the type of leader he was, “he treated you with respect,” said Devoe.
“My predecessor’s work will forever live to serve Off-Reserve First Nations, Métis and Southern Inuit. He will be dearly missed,” said current CAP National Chief Elmer St. Pierre, in a press release.
When asked what he would miss most, Mike McCrank, former warden of the MRC, said, “his sense of humour.”
McCrank first met Bertrand when he was working as a first responder in Maniwaki and the two got closer when Bertrand got into politics. At the time McCrank was warden.
He was very approachable and helpful, and when you needed to speak to ministers Bertrand made it happen, added McCrank.
But their relationship didn’t stop there, some of his fondest memories with Bertrand were spending time out on his boat just floating down the Ottawa River with a couple of beers, McCrank recalled.
An uncle who was like a big brother to him, Rémi Bertrand shared that there was not a judgmental bone in Bertrand’s body. “Bob was probably the most nonjudgmental person I’ve ever met, he was very influenced by the period, ‘the loving 70s,’ so he accepted everybody as they were with their differences or opinions.”
Being out in nature with his uncle when they would go on family hunting days and be disconnected from technology was when he learned the most about Bob, he said. One of his greatest qualities was that he was a great listener, “he would listen much more than he would talk,” said Rémi.
Bertrand was a mentor to Rémi and was always helping out his nephew, and would offer to pick up things while he drove around town. “He’d always joke and say ‘I’ll grab the beer at the microbrewery,’ but he says ‘I’ll need one can as my commission,’” laughed Rémi.
Bertrand was comical, and had a great sense of humor he said.
After his political career, Bertrand was able to slow down and do more of the things he loved such as being outdoors and being in nature, Eric explained. His favourite memories were spending time in the woods hunting and fishing with his father, or spending weekends at their family cottage.
When asked what was a word he would use to describe his father, Eric with a heavy heart said, “He lived such a full life that it’s kind of hard to pinpoint one moment.”
