Comeau Speaks

On November 27, 1979, Robert Comeau was called upon for the second time to testify in public before the Keable Commission, the Quebec inquiry into police activities during and after the October Crisis. Previously, in four in‑camera hearings, he had denied any participation in the Front de Libération du Québec and had refused to speak publicly. He was nervous; another refusal could mean a sentence of up to two years for contempt of court.

Comeau, a history professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, had in fact been a member of the FLQ, primarily delivering communiqués from the cells that had kidnapped James Cross and Pierre Laporte in October 1970. Before that, he was involved in a robbery of dynamite. Determined not to answer questions about his involvement, out of solidarity with his comrades, Comeau was stunned when Jean Keable announced at the last minute that the upcoming interrogation was cancelled: the commission had learned that François Séguin...