Bernard Derome, the former anchor of Radio-Canada’s Le Téléjournal, and the most respected television journalist among french Canadians, announced this morning on CKOI that he will be joining Sébastien Trudel and Marc-Antoine Audette to become the third wheel of notorious Montreal pranksters les Justiciers Masqués (you know, the guys who prank-called Sarah Palin?). Trudel said on the radio this morning that he looks forward to gaining access to Derome’s Rolodex of contacts, and hopes Derome will help the group mature and expand into more serious commentary. Derome, meanwhile, said he wanted to have a bit more fun in retirement and not take himself too seriously. He also wanted to improve his acting skills.

Derome’s first prank aired this morning. It features him having an increasingly uncomfortable interview with U.S. treasury secretary Timothy Geithner about the U.S. economy, bank bailouts and … well, I don’t want to spoil the ending. It’s worth a listen when it’s posted online.