Jacques Hebert, Canadian senator, dies

MONTREAL, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Jacques Hebert, a former Canadian senator who founded two organizations for young people, has died at 84.

Hebert died Thursday at his home in Montreal, CanWest News Service reported.

Hebert's legacy includes Canada World Youth, which he founded in 1971, and Katimavik, founded in 1977. CWY sends young Canadians overseas for educational and community development programs, while Katimavik is a volunteer program for young people in Canada.

In the 1980s, Hebert spent 21 days on a hunger strike to protest the cutting of government funding for Katimavik.

Hebert was also a close friend of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The two men traveled to China together and wrote a book, "Two Innocents in Red China."

"Jacques was a man of passion with a steadfast conviction that national youth service would one day become the common experience and expectation of all young Canadians," said Jean-Guy Bigeau, the executive director of Katimavik. "He firmly believed that Canadian youth are extraordinary assets to our nation, and that the earlier they were exposed to national volunteer service, the better prepared they would be to embrace the virtue of lifelong civic engagement."