Camille Laurin

Camille Laurin (May 6, 1922 – March 11, 1999) was a psychiatrist and Parti Québécois (PQ) politician in the Canadian province of Quebec.

A MNA member for the riding of Bourget, he is considered the father of Quebec's language law known informally as "Bill 101".

Born in Charlemagne, Quebec, Laurin obtained a degree in psychiatry from the Université de Montréal where he came under the influence of the Roman Catholic priest, Lionel Groulx.

In 1961, he authored the preface of the book Les fous crient au secours, which described the conditions of psychiatric hospitals of the time.

As a senior cabinet minister in the first PQ government elected in the 1976 Quebec election, he was the guiding force behind Bill 101, the legislation that placed restrictions on the use of English on public signs and in the workplace of large companies, and strengthened the position of French as the only official language in Quebec.