Lévesque Doesn’t Wear His Specs (Canadian Communist Song)

“Lévesque Doesn’t Wear His Specs“ was written in 1977 by the Canadian Cultural Workers’ Committee, a music group belonging to the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist). The song is about René Lévesque, the former premier of the Canadian province of Quebec who argued for the political independence of Quebec from Canada. The song makes reference to Lévesque killing a homeless man named Edgar Trottier by running him over with his car. It was widely speculated that Lévesque had been drinking. He was not charged with a crime, instead fined $25 for driving without his glasses. The song also references Maurice Duplessis, a fervently anti-worker and anticommunist Quebecois premier. He was called one of Quebecs’ heroes by Lévesque. Further reading from the CPC (M-L) on Lévesque - More information about Lévesque’s murder of Edgar Trottier -