Ex-Habs Coach Going to the Senate
Source: The Canadian Press
Posted: 08/27/09 1:58PM
Filed Under: Canada
MONTREAL - Ex-NHL hockey coach Jacques Demers, who has spoken frankly about his lifelong battle with illiteracy, is about to be named to the Senate, his employer said Thursday.
Demers's current employer - television network RDS, where he works as a hockey analyst - announced the appointment on its web site.
The backslapping, jovial old coach will be named to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper during his swing through Quebec City on Thursday, the website said.
Demers was indeed at an event with the prime minister, seated in the front row during a lunchtime announcement Thursday by Harper at Laval university.
Demers is quoted telling the story of how he was approached to enter the upper chamber on the sports network's website, under a story titled: Demers Becomes Senator.
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"I was contacted for the first time July 13 by someone in the prime minister's entourage," Demers is quoted saying by RDS.
"This person told me I was one of Mr. Harper's choices and he wanted to know if I was interested.
"I answered that I would be very honoured to be a senator. Mr. Harper contacted me a few days later."
Demers is the last man to coach a Canadian team to the Stanley Cup, a feat he achieved in his first year behind the Montreal Canadiens' bench in 1993.
He told interviewers that, as recently as 2005, he could only write his name and a few other words.
In November 2005, Demers released a biography, written by journalist Mario LeClerc, in which he revealed that he is functionally illiterate and had to hide it throughout his life.
He would hire assistants to read hockey contracts. He described how he pretended to read notes while he was on TV.
He also described the various means he used to hide his illiteracy from his wife, like pretending to be busy when bills would arrive in the mail and asking her to look after them.
Because of his status, he quickly became an inspiration for many suffering the same fate.
In a 2007 interview with The Canadian Press, Demers said he was buoyed by the fact that other people were coming forward because of his example.
"It's amazing it's led people to come forward, but it's also we're all scared to express ourselves because if we do, we're all scared of the backlash," Demers said.
Since his admission, Demers has learned to read and can plow through hockey stories in the newspaper. But other things take longer and require more focus and quiet around him.
Demers also coached in Quebec City, St. Louis, Detroit and Tampa Bay.
He is among a batch of new senators being appointed Thursday by Harper - a crop that includes some of the prime minister's closest political confidants.
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