A decade after Julie Surprenant's disappearance, her father Michel still refuses to speak about her in the past tense.
"After 10 years, I always hope she's alive. The reality maybe is something else," he said.
Julie, 16 at the time of her disappearance, vanished after getting off a bus less than 50 metres from her home in Terrebonne on Nov. 16, 1999.
To mark the anniversary, Michel Surprenant will be holding a press conference Monday asking the government for tougher laws against sexual predators.
Further, Surprenant, along with other parents of murdered or missing children, plan to ask for a special police squad dedicated to missing people, like one established in Ontario. They also aim to have the government tighten parole regulations.
"It's bullshit. Excuse me, but that's the word," said Surprenant.
For now, Surprenant can only find solace in knowing that his daughter's high-profile disappearance may have prevented others, but still, he's never found peace.
"We even had a portrait, a sketch done, of the presumed aggressor but no arrests have been made," said Pina Arcamone of the Missing Children's Network.
There was one suspect in Julie's disappearance, but never enough evidence to charge him before his death while serving time for unrelated sex crimes.
"He's going with his secret - if he's the guy," said Surprenant.
With nothing but her memory and some faded photos of his daughter, Surprenant continues to fight for his daughter and all missing children.
"When you lose your children, it's your dream," he said.
