Northlands Coliseum after the Oilers scored a goal. Laraque came out of retirement on January 16, 2015, joining Norway's Lokomotiv Fana, where he played two games before retiring again. Additionally, he was the assistant coach of the Haiti street and ball hockey national team during the 2015 Streethockey World Championship in Zug, Switzerland. Political career On February 13, 2010, Laraque joined the Green Party of Canada. On July 31, 2010, Laraque was officially named one of the party's Deputy Leaders. On July 9, 2013 he announced he would run for the federal Green Party in the by-election in Bourassa. On October 17, 2013 Laraque resigned as deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada and as candidate in Bourassa riding. Personal life Laraque's parents were both born in Haiti and immigrated to Canada; he was born in Montreal, Quebec. During his NHL career, he was nicknamed "Big Georges", sometimes shortened to "BGL". His brother Jules-Edy Laraque played ice hockey in minor leagues, while his cousin Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre played in the NHL and various European leagues. In the off-season, Laraque resides in Edmonton, which he considers his home away from home. On Fridays during the off-season, Laraque can often be heard hosting The Team 1260, an afternoon radio sports program in Edmonton. Laraque commits considerable time to local charity work to help the people of Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. On April 30, 2020, Laraque, who is asthmatic, was hospitalized for COVID-19 at the Hôpital Charles-LeMoyne in Longueuil, Quebec. Business and sports events Laraque became a vegan in 2009 to protest animal abuse by the meat industry. He is an investor in two raw vegan restaurants called Crudessence. and part-owner of the Delicieux Cafe Veg Fusion restaurant. On May 21, 2010, Laraque squared off with world welterweight mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Georges St-Pierre for three rounds of grappling for takedowns on TSN TV show Off The Record. Laraque did not score any takedowns. The same year, Laraque appeared in Season 2 of CBC's Battle of the Blades with partner Anabelle Langlois. In 2011, Laraque took part in the CBC's Canada Reads literary competition. He was the celebrity defender for author Angie Abdou's The Bone Cage. Laraque appeared in the 2011 film Goon as an enforcer for the fictional Albany Patriots. On November 8, 2011, Laraque published an autobiography entitled Georges Laraque: The Story of the NHL's Unlikeliest