Marc Laviolette, former president of the Confederation of National Societies (CSN) and staunch defender of the Quebec independence project, has died.
“This is a day of great sadness for the entire union movement,” CSN president Carolyn Chennyville announced in a press release Thursday.
The trade union activist began his career in the industry in the 1970s as a community organizer and president of the CLSC de la Seigneurie de Beauharnois union, before becoming an operator at the Expro factory in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield in 1978, then president of Valleyfield. National Chemical Products Union (SNPCV–CSN), 1986 to 1994.
At the same time, he was the vice president of CSN Metallurgy Federation. From 1994 to 1999, he served as the federation’s third vice president, succeeding Gerald LaRose as president of CSN in 1999, a position he held until 2002.
Commitment to workers
CSN recalled in its press release that throughout his union career, occupational health and safety issues were always at the heart of Mark Laviolette’s commitment.
It also participated in recognizing the essential contribution of workers in organizing work and managing OHS issues.
“Marc Laviolette’s commitment to the working class, and particularly to issues of health and safety in the workplace, must be highlighted. His outspokenness and his proximity to workers across Quebec have made him an exemplary union activist, always ready to defend the rights of the most vulnerable,” Ms. Senneville continued.
Mr. Laviolette was particularly involved in the Parti Québécois in support of the province’s independence and participated in the formation of the Syndicalists and Progressives for a Free Quebec (SPQ Libre) movement.
The flag at CSN headquarters in Montreal will be flown at half-mast in his memory.
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