Feb 29, 1960 - Feb 28, 2001

Internationalist Notes is saddened to report the premature death on the 28th Feb of our comrade and friend Bertrand Desaulniers. Bertrand had been suffering from cancer for a few years. Travelling in the Ukraine in 1986, he was in the area of Chernobyl during the infamous nuclear disaster that took place there and had to be evacuated immediately from the region by plane. However, the present state of science does not permit us to conclude that there was a causal relation between his sickness and this event.

He was an active sympathiser of our current.

Having broken with [left] social democracy, activism and the nationalism of his youth, Bertrand participated in the life of our group most notably by contributing to our translation work. He had an ongoing concern with the financing of our activities and practiced what he preached. In the last 2 years, he was the most diligent reader of our archives, learning from the substantial theoretical arsenal of the different currents that used to constitute the International Communist Left, all the while prioritizing the publications of the International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party (IBRP). During the month of April 2000, he had also contributed actively to the technical aspects of the first North American conference of the IBRP. The news of his death has naturally brought forth a number of letters of sympathy coming from comrades of the Bureau and its supporters in many countries.

Bertrand died courageously, surrounded by his loved ones. As he wished, his remains shall be scattered throughout his beloved native Mauricie. A memorial was held in Grand-Mere on the 17th of March. Approximately 125 people gathered to honour his memory. A member of Internationalist Notes delivered a eulogy that emphasized the importance of his political involvement and related to his family and close ones a message of sympathy from the IBRP. We will miss him.