Remembering Mark Bourque
1948-2005
Mark Bourque was a dedicated man - dedicated to his family and to keeping the peace. In his thirty-five years as a police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police he was known as hardworking, dedicated and tenacious -- someone who got the job done. On December 20, 2005 Mark Bourque died as a result of a gunshot wound he received in Haiti while doing the work he loved.
The family will be receiving visitors at the Complexe Funeraire, Lepine Coutier, 1500 boul. Hamel Ouest, Quebec Tuesday 27 December from 2 to 5 pm and 7 to 9 pm, and Wednesday from 9 to 10 am. The religious funeral service will be held at the Notre-Dame Basilica 16 rue Buade Quebec at 11 am Wednesday December 28th. Those wishing to express their condolences by charitable donation can do so by making a contribution to the Foundation des Maladies du Cœur du Québec au 4715 avenue des Replats, bureau 261, Québec (Qc) G2J 1B8.
Funeral details of Mark Bourque (RCMP Website)
A casualty of Haiti's chaos
National PostThursday, December 22, 2005
The murder of Mark Bourque, a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police sergeant who was part of a Canadian police contingent in Haiti helping to provide security ahead of Jan. 8 presidential elections, represents a terrible loss to Haiti and Canada both. Mr. Bourque was in Haiti with a noble purpose: to help stabilize the impoverished country in the hope that the exercise of democracy will help to right the failed state.
Mr. Bourque was remembered yesterday as "the greatest weapon Canadian police had against international organized crime" for his role in exposing the financial trail of one of the world's pernicious networks of drug traffickers, and helping to expose Mafia money-laundering activities using Canadian banks. After 35 years of exemplary service with the RCMP, he could have been comfortably out of the line of fire and deservedly resting on his considerable reputation. But the officer represented the finest aspects of the Mounties, a police force known the world over both for its professionalism and its humanity.
Mr. Bourque, 57, was killed fighting a far different manifestation of crime: the lawlessness that pervades Haiti. He had been planning to donate a generator to an orphanage and hospital there. He was shot near Cite Soleil, a slum in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. In the words of Michaelle Jean, the Governor-General, "the bullets of a hidden gunman have cruelly taken the life of a man of exemplary conduct and commitment." What cannot be allowed, however, is for the murder to undermine that which Mr. Bourque was working for and further delay the election process in Haiti.
No election in that country will be without danger of disruption. It is a country rife with poverty and attendant violence. Mr. Bourque was the eighth peacekeeper to have been killed in Haiti since the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti was established in June, 2004. But the international community cannot do the job of rebuilding the country on its own. Haiti's continuing process of political transition and economic reform requires Haitians themselves to take the lead. Vital to that are the democratic elections in early January. With the success of that vote, then Mr. Bourque's death will not have been in vain.
Obituary of Mark Bourque.
© National Post 2005
A good man
The Ottawa CitizenFriday, December 23, 2005
If ever a man deserved to be called a hero, it was Mark Bourque, the peacekeeper killed in Haiti on Dec. 20.
Most Canadians wouldn't recognize Mr. Bourque's face from a photograph. But they will remember the images of his casket, draped in the flags of Canada and the United Nations. They will remember that he died in a noble cause.
Courage, it seems, was a lifelong trait. In his career as an RCMP officer, Mr. Bourque wasn't afraid to take on organized crime. But he treated criminals as human beings; according to one report, he would try to persuade them to adopt honest lives.
Mr. Bourque went to Haiti with other retired Canadian police officers to help secure the country before the elections planned for early 2006.
When news of his death broke, people back home wondered why Mr. Bourque was driving through a dangerous slum of Port-au-Prince in a private car. Here's why: He was on his way to visit an orphanage for which he was co-ordinating the donation of a generator. He wanted to find out what size the orphanage would need.
One friend in Canada, who was in on the plan, says he will make sure the orphans get their generator.
Canadians are saddened by Mr. Bourque's death, and their sympathies are with his friends and family. The best way to honour him would be to help the country he was helping, to donate to a charity doing work in Haiti.
The poverty, violence and instability of Haiti is the ongoing shame of the Western Hemisphere. Mr. Bourque was working on our behalf to make a better world, and for that we are grateful.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005