Michel Auger vows to keep working
The Montreal crime reporter won't let six bullets in the back prevent him from returning to his beat

By David McKie

A picture of Michel Auger was displayed on the cover of the last edition of Media magazine. The Journal de Montr‚al crime reporter, who has been practicing his craft for 37 years, was shown smiling, despite the fact that he was lying on a hospital bed, the tubes to help him recover still attached to his body. The picture was an act of defiance that has come to symbolized the attitude of a man few journalists knew much about before September 13, the day he was shot six times in the back. Auger had a photographer take the shot of him lying on that bed. It is said a picture is worth a thousand words. That shot of Auger told the world and the crime bosses that he was not going to be silenced or frightened away. Police linked the shooting to the very underworld Auger tries to expose in his column.

Now Auger is a picture of health, still smiling, still defiant, still vowing to continue writing his column. However, things are different now. Auger says he has become a reluctant celebrity, which in itself will be a mixed blessing: A benefit because his "celebrity" status may afford him the kind of access to stories and people that he never dreamed of; a hindrance because having anonymous conversations in public or out-of-the-way places will be more difficult now that more people recognize him.

When Auger spoke in December at a breakfast in Ottawa hosted by the National Press Club, he didn't show any signs of fatigue from a schedule that up until that bitterly cold morning had included stops in Paris, Edmonton and Toronto to talk about his ordeal, field questions and receive awards. The Ottawa event was the first time many journalists were able to hear from the man himself how it happened, what was going through his mind as he lay on the pavement, and just how determined he is to continue writing.

The following is an edited version of an informal talk he gave on that December morning to a room filled with journalists and former journalists as they finished a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee.

I always thought that crime reporting was not the quietest job to do. I always had the impression that my car should have been the target of an attack by the bikers or any other mobsters. But mainly it was the bikers who were worrying me before (the shooting) because the Hells Angels have been established in Canada since 1977. On September 13, I was in the office parking lot at about 11 o'clock in the morning. I was opening the trunk of my car to get my computer. I don't know what came first. I heard noise. It felt like a baseball bat in my back. And I turned around and about 10 feet from me was a guy....a young guy...he looked athletic. There was a ball of smoke in his hand and no face at all -- from what I remember. I knew immediately that I was hit. I didn't know if it was very serious or not. The guy ran away. I felt something at the bottom of my back. I decided to phone 911.

I picked up my pager to phone 911. I lay down on the pavement and phoned. Those were the two longest minutes of my life, waiting there. While waiting, I had time to check out if I was paralyzed. And it was only when the emergency technician started to question me and looked at the wounds and started to count, one, two, three and up to six, then I realized that it was something a lot more serious than I thought. I never had the impression of the light at the end of the tunnel ( audience laughs ). I was not nervous. There was a doctor with them (the emergency crew) and they decided to transfer me to the hospital without any medical assistance on the scene.

They just put me on the stretcher and sent me to the Montreal General. Despite all of what we hear about the medical system, I was treated very well and very fast. I woke 48 hours later and that picture was taken ( holding up a copy of Media magazine that showed him lying on the hospital bed, smiling ). I had two operations on the first two days and then one week later I had another operation. I spent two weeks in hospital, plus 10 days in a hotel. It was a hotel that belongs to a big Mafia family member in Montreal (even louder laughter). I said I'll be protected better there than anywhere else in Montreal. So I spent about 10 days there. Now it's back to a normal life.

But not quite normal. Yesterday I made a list of the speeches I gave and rewards I received and it was a very long list. I was in Paris for two days, Edmonton for two days, and Toronto. And I also (experienced an) occasion, which was quite interesting for me as a journalist and as a citizen. I met with four people who were victims of gunshots, and who had difficulty (dealing with) their incident.

In my case, I don't know why, I don't know if it's because of my 37 years of experience as a crime reporter, but I don't have any aftershocks or any bad feelings or bad dreams at night. Those people who I met had problems. I was asked to meet them to share my experience just in case it would help them. And apparently it helped them.

Editor's note: In the last edition of Media Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan re-told the story of Tara Singh Hayer. The publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times was shot in the head on November 1998 as he transferred himself from his car to the wheelchair he had used since the attempt on his life ten years earlier. Police have arrested the suspected linked that 1988 murder attempt.

David McKie is an Ottawa-based reporter with CBC Radio and editor of Media magazine. He can be reached by email at either david_mckie@cbc.ca or davidmckie@home.com.