Marc-Boris St-Maurice (born 1969)[1] is an activist, politician and Canadian musician,[2] who has campaigned for many years for the legalization of cannabis, and to facilitate access to the drug for health reasons. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Marc-Boris St-Maurice
Leader of the Marijuana Party of Canada
In office
2000–2005
Preceded byParty founded*
Succeeded byBlair Longley
Leader of the Bloc Pot
In office
1998–2000
Preceded byParty founded*
Succeeded byHugô St-Onge
Personal details
Born1969
Québec
Political partyBloc Pot (1998-2000)

Marijuana Party of Canada (2000-2005)

Liberal Party of Canada (2005-?)

Music career

St-Maurice first became known in the early 1990s as bassist of punk band Grimskunk. It was then that Marc Saint-Maurice received the nickname "Boris".[3] He left the band in 1999 to focus on his activism in the marijuana legalization movement.

Political career

In 1998, he founded the Bloc Pot, a Quebec provincial political party whose main objective was the decriminalization and eventual legalization of marijuana.[3] In the Quebec general election of that year St-Maurice was the party's candidate in Mercier, placing fourth. In 2000, he created the federal equivalent of the Bloc Pot, the Marijuana Party, which ran candidates in federal elections. That year, St-Maurice was the party's candidate on two separate occasions, first in the byelection to replace resigning Okanagan—Coquihalla MP Jim Hart, then in Laurier—Sainte-Marie in the November general election. While ultimately unsuccessful, St-Maurice's candidacy in the November federal election was an unprecedented result for both St-Maurice and the Marijuana Party. He managed to best the candidates of three major parties (the New Democratic Party, the Progressive Conservatives, and the Canadian Alliance) a relatively rare feat for a minor party. In 2001, St-Maurice returned to Quebec politics to contest the byelection in Jonquière, prompted by the resignation of Lucien Bouchard. The next year he was a candiddate in the federal byelection in Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, placing last. His final foray into federal politics came in 2004, where he stood as a candidate in LaSalle—Émard, the riding of then Prime Minister Paul Martin.

In February 2005, Saint-Maurice left the Marijuana Party to join the Liberal Party of Canada, arguing that the chances of reaching the objectives pursued by both cannabis rights parties were better in the then ruling party.[4] The movement for marijuana had actually made some progress under Liberal rule in the early 2000s, with decriminalization bills introduced in 2003 and 2004 by the governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin. When Stephen Harper's Conservatives won in the 2006 election, the new government did not continue with this legislation.[5]

In 2009, St-Maurice contested the 2009 Montreal municipal election, seeking the position of city councillor in Jeanne-Mance. He was ultimately unsuccessfully, losing to Nimâ Machouf of Projet Montreal.

Compassion Club and activism

St-Maurice has experienced trouble with the law when he was a full-time volunteer at the Compassion Club, an organization that provides marijuana to seriously ill individuals with a medical prescription. The first Montreal Compassion Club, based on those in Toronto and British Columbia, was opened on Rachel Street, near a police station.

Following a police raid, St-Maurice and his colleague Alexander Neron were accused of possession and trafficking of narcotics. Their lawyers pleaded that the Canadian legislation left a legal loophole, allowing certain individuals to possess cannabis for medicinal purposes, but not supplying the product in question. Judge Gilles Cadieux halted the proceedings against the two men in December 2002.

St-Maurice is the founder and director of the Montreal Compassion Centre, a medical marijuana facility in downtown Montreal.[6][7] Prior to the legalization of cannabis in Canada, the centre was raided and shut down in 2011.[8]

Electoral record

2009 Montreal Municipal Election: Jeanne-Mance

Party City Council candidate Vote  %
  Projet MontréalNimâ Machouf3,27139.90
  Vision MontréalNathalie Rochefort2,40429.32
  Union MontréalMichel Prescott1,80622.03
  IndependentMarc-Boris St-Maurice5486.68
  Parti Montréal Ville-MarieMarc-André Bahl1702.07
2004 Canadian federal election: LaSalle—Émard
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalPaul Martin25,80656.6-9.2$58,357
Bloc QuébécoisThierry Larrivée14,00130.7+6.5$6,381
ConservativeNicole Roy-Arcelin2,2715.0-1.0$5,075
New DemocraticRebecca Blaikie1,9954.4+2.7$2,226
GreenDouglas Jack1,0002.2–$410
MarijuanaMarc-Boris St-Maurice3490.8-0.8
Marxist–LeninistJean-Paul Bédard2100.5–
Total 45,632 100.0 $78,239
Canadian federal by-election, May 13, 2002: Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
Retirement of Alfonso Gagliano
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMassimo Pacetti14,07683.5+6.9
Bloc QuébécoisUmberto Di Genova1,4958.9-5.6
Progressive ConservativeAntonio Cordeiro6343.8+1.5
New DemocraticNormand Caplette4472.7+1.5
MarijuanaMarc-Boris St-Maurice1971.2-0.2
Total valid votes 16,849 100.0
Liberal hold Swing
Quebec provincial by-election, 2001: Jonquière
Resignation of Lucien Bouchard
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalFrançoise Gauthier13,07746.54+27.19
Parti QuébécoisNicole Racine8,83031.42-29.06
Action démocratiqueMichèle Boulianne5,39119.18+14.20
RAPGilbert Talbot4801.71-13.13
Bloc PotMarc-Boris St-Maurice3231.15–
Total valid votes 28,10199.04-0.08
Total rejected ballots 2730.96+0.08
Turnout 28,37463.45-13.46
Eligible voters 44,716
Liberal gain Swing
2000 Canadian federal election: Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Bloc QuébécoisGilles Duceppe23,47352.8−1.9
LiberalJean Philippe Côté11,45125.7+2.8
GreenDylan Perceval-Maxwell2,1694.9+2.5
MarijuanaMarc-Boris St-Maurice2,1564.8–
New DemocraticRichard Chartier2,1214.8+0.3
Progressive ConservativeJean François Tessier1,8794.2−7.7
AllianceStéphane Prud'homme9602.2–
Marxist–LeninistGinette Boutet2690.6−0.1
Total valid votes 44,478100.0
Bloc Québécois hold Swing
Canadian federal by-election, September 11, 2000: Okanagan—Coquihalla
Resignation of Jim Hart
Party Candidate Votes%±%
AllianceStockwell Day19,41770.30+17.24
New DemocraticKen Ellis3,47012.56+0.81
GreenJoan Russow2,1157.66+5.49
Canadian ActionJack William Peach1,1594.20–
IndependentJim Strauss6892.49–
IndependentMarc-Boris St-Maurice4381.59–
IndependentDennis Earl Baker2230.81–
IndependentRad Gajic1080.39–
Total valid votes 27,619100.0  
Alliance hold Swing +8.22
1998 Quebec general election: Mercier
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Parti QuébécoisRobert Perreault17,55255.38−1.10
LiberalElizabeth da Silva9,00528.42−2.13
Action démocratiquePaul Benevides2,8188.89+3.47
Bloc PotMarc-Boris St-Maurice9853.11–
Socialist DemocracyGuylaine Sirard8732.75+0.12
IndependentAnn Farrell1580.50–
Natural LawPierre Bergeron1540.49−0.34
Marxist–LeninistNormand Chouinard790.25−0.08
CommunistPierre Smith670.21−0.21
Total valid votes 31,69198.47+1.03
Total rejected ballots 4931.53-1.03
Turnout 32,18475.28-5.05
Eligible voters 42,755
Parti Québécois hold Swing +0.52
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.

References

  1. ↑ Beausoleil, Jean-Marc (2017). "Enfant de cœur". Monsieur Boris et le cannabis : le long road-trip vers la légalisation (in French). QuébecAmérique. ISBN 978-2-7644-3338-6. OCLC 981767718.
  2. ↑ Marc-Boris St-Maurice Bio
  3. 1 2 Curtis, Christopher (October 15, 2016). "Medicinal marijuana in Montreal: Just ask for Boris". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  4. ↑ Wherry, Aaron (September 4, 2013). "Q&A: Marc-Boris St-Maurice on marijuana and Justin Trudeau - Macleans.ca". Maclean's. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  5. ↑ The Canadian Press (June 3, 2010). "Quebec police raid pot clubs, plan 25 arrests". The Toronto Star. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ LeClair, Anne (January 10, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Cannabis Culture plans to reopen in Montreal with a medical twist". Global News. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  7. ↑ Riga, Andy (November 16, 2017). "Quebec cannabis: Activists, entrepreneur disappointed with marijuana legislation". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. ↑ Annable, Kristin (February 23, 2012). "Health Canada helps prosecute marijuana growers, then asks them for advice | National Post". National post. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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