Former Parti Quebecois cabinet minister Robert Burns dead at 77

By The Canadian Press
May 16 2014 12:37 PM

CP28395440 — Retired judge and former PQ minister Robert Burns speaks at an event in Montreal on March, 2, 2010. Burns has died. Quebec democracy has lost one of its most illustrious supporters, following the death on Thursday of former PQ minister Robert Burns at the age of 77 years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

QUEBEC – Robert Burns, who was among the first Parti Quebecois members of the legislature, has died at the age of 77.

The PQ issued a statement today confirming Burns’ death on Thursday.

Burns is considered the father of Quebec’s original law governing the financing of political parties.

He was the cabinet minister responsible for electoral reform in 1977 when Rene Levesque’s government passed legislation prohibiting companies from contributing to political parties.

He was one of seven successful PQ candidates in the 1970 election — the first time the sovereigntist party had sent anyone to the national assembly.

Burns went on to become a judge.

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