Normand Lester
| Normand Lester | |
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Normand Lester
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| Born | July 10, 1945 |
| Occupation | Investigative journalist, columnist, author |
| Years active | 1964–present |
Normand Lester (born July 10, 1945) is an investigative journalist from Québec. Though he built his reputation through investigations of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Forces, he is best known for the controversy created in Canada after the publication of his book Le Livre noir du Canada anglais ("The Black Book of English Canada") in 2005.
Born to a Romanian immigrant who started as a butcher and made a fortune in real estate and a French Canadian mother, Lester started his career in journalism in 1964. Two years later, he began a 35-year career as a reporter for the Radio-Canada, in which he found himself posted around the Western world, being posted in Washington, New York City and Paris.
In 1986, he was posted as parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa. He began to investigate and study the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which had been created that year to take over duties formerly under the aegis of the RCMP. This would be the beginning of a long string of reports, some shocking, on the activities of CSIS, lasting twelve years. He investigated Claude Morin, cabinet minister and close advisor to René Lévesque and also a paid informant of the RCMP.
After the publication of the first part of the trilogy that is Livre noir du Canada anglais, Radio-Canada suspended him from his work on November 18, 2001, citing a lack of impartiality.
A few days later, Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste awarded him the Prix Olivar-Asselin for both his courage and excellence in investigative journalism. On December 5, 2001, after 35 years of service, Lester quit Radio-Canada. Since then, he has written for various newspapers, such as le Devoir.
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