Jean Lapierre remembered one year after fatal plane crash
A commemorative mass was held Tuesday in memory of Jean Lapierre and the six others who were killed in a small plane crash over the Magdalen Islands one year ago.
People gathered at Église Saint-François-Xavier de Bassin on the anniversary to pay their respects.
Lapierre's mother, Lucie Cormier, led the candle lighting ceremony. A moment of silence was also observed during the service.
The political commentator and former Liberal federal cabinet minister, was killed along with his wife Nicole Beaulieu, sister Martine and two brothers Marc and Louis.
Two crew members were also killed, Pascal Gosselin and Fabrice Labourel, when the plane went down in fog and freezing rain in the Gulf of St. Lawrence March 29, 2016.
The family was travelling to the funeral of Lapierre's father, Raymond Lapierre, who died the week before.
Decades of political contribution
Lapierre spent the first decade of his elected career as a Liberal MP for Shefford, Que., serving as the deputy House leader in 1984.
After the 1990 convention, he joined Lucien Bouchard and dozens of other disaffected Progressive Conservative and Liberal MPs to form the Bloc Québecois.
He served as the transport minister under then-Prime Minister Paul Martin and went on to become a recognizable figure in Quebec media after retiring from political office in 2007.
Many high profile political figures attended Lapierre's funeral including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Brian Mulroney.
Crash investigation continues
Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released preliminary findings on the crash in July, where it was determined that the plane was flying too high and too fast before it crashed.
The TSB investigation is still ongoing and there is no fixed date when the final report will be released.
