Madeleine Meilleur

Madeleine Meilleur
Ontario MPP
In office
2003–2016
Preceded by Claudette Boyer
Succeeded by Nathalie Des Rosiers
Constituency Ottawa—Vanier
Ottawa City Councillor
In office
2001–2003
Preceded by Stéphane Émard-Chabot
Succeeded by Georges Bédard
Constituency Rideau-Vanier Ward
Vanier City Councillor
In office
1991–1994
Preceded by Marc Grandmaître
Succeeded by Robert Crête
Constituency William D'Aoust Ward
Ottawa-Carleton Regional Councillor
In office
1991–2000
Preceded by Guy Cousineau
Succeeded by Position abolished
Constituency Vanier (1991-1994)
Rideau-Vanier Ward (1994-2000)
Personal details
Born (1948-11-22) November 22, 1948
Kiamika, Quebec, Canada
Political party Liberal
Residence Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Occupation Registered Nurse, Lawyer

Madeleine Meilleur (born November 22, 1948) is a Canadian nurse, lawyer and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2016. She represented the riding of Ottawa—Vanier. She was a cabinet minister in the governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne.

In May 2017, she was nominated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to become Canada's next Official Languages Commissioner. Her appointment had to be approved by the House of Commons of Canada and Senate to become official.[1] On June 7, 2017, she withdrew her name from consideration due to controversy around her selection.[2]

Background

Meilleur was born in the Quebec community of Kiamika. She is both a registered nurse and a lawyer, specializing in labour and employment law and has served on the Ottawa-Carleton Regional District Health Council, the Champlain District Health Council, the Ottawa-Carleton Children's Aid Society and the Vanier Housing Corporation.

Municipal politics

Meilleur was elected to the city of Vanier's municipal council in 1991, and also served as a council member in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (which included members from Vanier and other local municipalities).[3] In 2000, she was acclaimed as a city councillor in the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa.[4] During her time in municipal government, Meilleur represented the council on the French-Language Services Advisory Committee. She received the United Way's Community Builder's Award in 2001.[5]

Provincial politics

McGuinty government

In the 2003 provincial election, Meilleur was elected in the riding of Ottawa—Vanier as the Liberal Party candidate.[6]

The Liberal party won the election, and Meilleur was appointed Minister of Culture with responsibility for Francophone Affairs on October 23, 2003.[7] In November 2003, Meilleur announced that provincial grants would be made available to libraries in rural communities. In April 2004, she announced the extension of demolition controls on heritage buildings. In 2008, she became the province's first cabinet minister ever to attend an international summit of La Francophonie.

On April 5, 2006, Meilleur was appointed Minister of Community and Social Services.[8] She was reelected to her Ottawa—Vanier riding in the 2007 provincial election.[9]

After she was re-elected in the 2011 provincial election,[10] she was appointed Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Julie Bilotta

On September 29, 2012, in a story that made international headlines, a 26-year-old woman from Cornwall, Ontario, Julie Bilotta, was forced to give birth to her now-deceased son, Gionni Garlow, in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, a jail under Ontario jurisdiction. While it is not unusual that a prisoner would give birth while incarcerated, Bilotta alleges that the prison guards and the medical staff ignored her cries for medical assistance. At the time this incident took place, Meilleur was the Ontario Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, making her the minister responsible for the institution in question. Meilleur subsequently announced a review into health care in Ontario’s provincial correctional facilities.

Wynne government

When Kathleen Wynne took over as Premier in 2013, Meilleur continued in her position as Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.[11] She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election.[12] On June 24, 2014 she was appointed Attorney General of Ontario, the first francophone to hold the position.[13]

In 2016, she was criticized over her initial refusal and subsequent delay in releasing the Special Investigations Unit's report on the police shooting of Andrew Loku.[14]

On June 9, 2016, Meilleur announced her retirement after 25 years in politics. Her resignation from the legislature coincided with a June 2016 cabinet shuffle.[14][15]

Cabinet positions

Ontario Provincial Government of Kathleen Wynne
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
John Gerretsen Attorney General
2014–2016
Also responsible for Francophone Affairs		 Yasir Naqvi
Ontario Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Jim Bradley Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
2013–2014
Also Responsible for Francophone Affairs		 Yasir Naqvi
Sandra Pupatello Minister of Community and Social Services
2006–2011		 John Milloy
David Tsubouchi Minister of Culture
2003–2006
Also Responsible for Francophone Affairs		 Caroline Di Cocco

Commissioner of Official Languages

Meilleur was nominated to become the Commissioner of Official Language by the federal government on May 15, 2017. Her appointment was challenged as failing to be sufficiently non-partisan due to Meilleur's links to the ruling Liberal Party of Canada.[16] She withdrew her name from consideration on June 7, 2017.[2] In the end, this position was filled by Raymond Théberge.[17]

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2014: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMadeleine Meilleur21,81055.55+4.04
Progressive ConservativeMartin Forget8,75022.29-1.16
New DemocraticHervé Ngamby5,22813.32-6.29
GreenDave Bagler3,1448.01+3.49
LibertarianPhillip Richard3290.84
Total valid votes 39,261 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 517 1.30 +0.88
Turnout 39,778 48.86 +2.05
Eligible voters 81,412  
Liberal hold Swing +2.60
Source(s)
"Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
Ontario general election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMadeleine Meilleur19,61551.4
Progressive ConservativeFred Sherman8,93123.4
New DemocraticPaul Étienne Laliberté-Tipple7,52519.7
GreenDave Bagler1,7194.5
Family CoalitionEmmanuel Houle3520.9
Total valid votes 38,142 100.0
Ontario general election, 2007
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMadeleine Meilleur20,95150.8-1.7
Progressive ConservativeBruce Poulin9,16922.2-4.0
New DemocraticRic Dagenais6,14414.9-0.8
GreenLeonard Poole4,28710.4+5.9
Family CoalitionFrank Cioppa4001.0
IndependentRobert Larter2560.6
Total valid votes 38,142 100.0
Ontario general election, 2003
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMadeleine Meilleur22,18853.5+0.5
Progressive ConservativeMaurice Lamirande10,87826.2-5.6
New DemocraticJoseph Zebrowski6,50715.7+5.2
GreenRaphael Thierrin1,8764.5+2.1
Total valid votes 41,449 100.0

References

  1. ↑ "Liberals nominate Madeleine Meilleur as official languages commissioner". CBC News. May 15, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Tasker, John Paul (June 7, 2017). "Madeleine Meilleur takes herself out of the running for languages commissioner job". CBC News.
  3. ↑ Asimakopulos, Anna (November 13, 1991). "Vanier: Cousineau comes from behind". The Ottawa Citizen. p. B4.
  4. ↑ "Ward 12:Rideau-Vanier: Meilleur acclaimed". The Ottawa Citizen. November 14, 2000. p. B5.
  5. ↑ "Sidelines". The Ottawa Citizen. September 27, 2001. p. C7.
  6. ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Premier Dalton McGuinty and his 22-member cabinet were sworn in Thursday". Canadian Press NewsWire. October 23, 2003. p. 1.
  8. ↑ Macaluso, Grace (April 6, 2006). "MPP gets new post: Sandra Pupatello: Ont. cabinet's most powerful woman". The Windsor Star. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 11 (xx). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  10. ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  11. ↑ "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. February 12, 2013. p. A3.
  12. ↑ "General Election by District: Ottawa-Vanier". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (June 24, 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
  14. 1 2 Robert Benzie (June 9, 2016). "Ontario Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur resigning from politics". Toronto Star.
  15. ↑ "Struggling Wynne Shuffles Cabinet, Adds 7 New Ministers". Toronto Star. June 13, 2016.
  16. ↑ Hebert, Chantal (24 May 2017). "Madeleine Meilleur's appointment fails the non-partisan smell test: Hébert". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  17. ↑ "Raymond Théberge named Canada's official languages commissioner". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
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