Michel Clair
Encyclopedia
Michel Clair is an administrator and former politician in the Canadian
province of Quebec
. He was a Parti Québécois
member of the National Assembly of Quebec
from 1976 to 1985 and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque
and Pierre-Marc Johnson
. Clair later became an executive administrator with Hydro-Québec
.
and received his early education in that community and in Montreal
. He later earned a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke
and was called to the bar of Quebec in 1974. He worked as a legal aid lawyer in Drummondville from 1974 to 1976 and earned a master's degree
in criminology from the Université de Montréal
. Clair also wrote for a local newspaper and appeared on the radio station CHRD-FM
.
for the division of Drummond
. The Parti Québécois won a majority government
in this election, and Clair entered the legislature as a backbench
supporter of René Lévesque's government. On May 17, 1979, he was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the minister of consumer affairs, cooperatives and financial institutions. At the time, he was the youngest cabinet minister in Quebec history.
Clair joined the Lévesque cabinet as revenue minister on September 21, 1979. In late 1980, he announced that Quebec would stop charging the provincial sales tax on advertising flyers in newspapers. He explained that neighbouring provinces did not tax the flyers, and that Quebec's printing industry had accordingly been at a disadvantage.
Transport minister
Clair was re-elected in the 1981 provincial election
and was shifted to the position of transport minister on April 30, 1981. He completed an agreement with federal minister
Jean-Luc Pepin
the same June to modernize commuter transit in the Montreal area. The following month, however, he criticized the federal government for cancelling some regional train services and said that the closures would not have been necessary if proposed upgrades had been made five years earlier. In November 1981, Clair announced an appeal to the Federal Court of Canada
to stop the federal government's planned cutbacks.
In February 1982, Clair introduced legislation stipulating that all persons in the front seat of a moving vehicle be required to wear a seatbelt; taxi drivers, police, and young children had previously been exempted. He later introduced restrictions on the use of government planes by cabinet ministers. In May 1982, he announced that Quebec would end its use of bilingual stop signs by 1987, leaving only the French word "arrêt" on the famous octagonal red sign.
Clair took part in negotiations in 1982–83 to save the financially troubled Quebecair
, North America's only French-language airline. He reached an agreement in principle with Ontario transport minister James Snow in August 1982 that would have seen a merger of Nordair
and Quebecair with involvement from Air Ontario
. The federal government rejected this plan and instead suggested replacing Quebecair with a new service co-owned by Air Canada
and the Quebec government. Clair ultimately declined this proposal and announced in June 1983 that the Quebec government would take over and restructure the airline. This was not intended as a nationalization; Clair said that he hoped private investors would manage the company.
Clair strongly criticized the Canadian National Railway
's decision in 1983 to shift its administrative offices for trucking and express services from Montreal to Toronto.
Treasury Board President
After a cabinet shuffle on March 5, 1984, Clair was named as president of the treasury board and minister responsible for administration. In early 1985, he introduced new labour legislation that cut the right of public-sector workers to strike over money issues, established a joint labour-management committee to study economic conditions and pay increases, and decentralized some aspects of bargaining to reflect local conditions. Quebec Federation of Labour president Louis Laberge
and other labour leaders opposed some aspects of the bill, particularly the restrictions on the right to strike. The Lévesque government passed the legislation after invoking closure on debate.
Clair announced in March 1985 that Quebec would spend $27.4 billion in the 1985–86 fiscal year, an increase of 5.7 per cent over the previous year.
Internal PQ crisis
In 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis
over its support for Quebec sovereignty. Some leading party figures, including René Lévesque, wanted to moderate the party's position, while others favoured a more hardline stance in support of Quebec independence Clair sided with the moderates. When delegates at a party conference voted to tie the PQ to a hardline indépendantiste stand in the next provincial election, Clair quipped that he had "never seen turkeys so eager for Christmas."
The PQ's divisions continued until November 1984, when several indépendantiste hardliners resigned from the government. Clair served as acting minister of social affairs from November 27 to November 29, replacing one of the departed ministers until a full-time replacement was found.
Treasury Board/Energy and Resources
René Lévesque resigned as Parti Québécois leader and premier in June 1985, and Clair supported Pierre-Marc Johnson
's successful bid to become the party's new leader. Johnson became premier in October 1985 and announced a cabinet shuffle on October 17, keeping Clair in the treasury board portfolio and giving him extra responsibilities as minister of energy and resources
. On November 11, Clair approved almost two million dollars in mining exploration grants for seven companies.
The Parti Québécois lost the 1985 provincial election
to the Quebec Liberal Party, and Clair was defeated in Drummond by the narrow margin of 102 votes. He formally resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on December 12, 1985.
Clair traveled to Romania
with a Montreal television crew in late 1989 to record a series of reports on the status of the country's minority Hungarian community. One of these reports included a clandestine interview with László Tőkés
, who was arrested shortly after the broadcast took place. Tőkés's arrest helped trigger the 1989 Romanian revolution
, and some have suggested that Clair's interview played a significant role in provoking the latter event.
Clair became president of the venture capital
firm Fondel Drummond in 1990.
under Jacques Parizeau
's leadership in the 1994 provincial election
. Clair was not a candidate in the election but was appointed as deputy minister of energy and resources on November 28, 1994. By virtue of this position, he also served on the board of Hydro-Quebec
. He resigned as deputy minister on May 5, 1997, to become executive vice-president of Hydro-Quebec's international affairs and projects group as well as president and chief executive officer of Hydro-Quebec International.
In September 1997, Clair announced that a new company co-owned by Hydro-Quebec would undertake a partnership with Pan American Enterprises to create a network of compressed natural gas stations in Mexico
. He later helped negotiate deals for Hydro-Quebec in countries such as China
, Peru
, Costa Rica
, Panama
, and Senegal
. He stood down as president of Hydro-Quebec International in late 1999.
were outdated and led to unequal services; one example provided was that all doctor's visits were covered, while home care was not.
Clair later co-chaired a follow-up review of health services with Claude Castonguay
, commissioned by the newspaper La Presse. This report also recommended restructuring the health system.
Clair became president of the Sedna Health Group Inc. in 2001. In 2009, he joined the advisory board of Barrett Xplore.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. He was a Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
member of the National Assembly of Quebec
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
from 1976 to 1985 and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
and Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson, , is a Quebec lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th Premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985.- Early background :...
. Clair later became an executive administrator with Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
.
Early life and career
Clair was born in Saint-Germain-de-GranthamSaint-Germain-de-Grantham, Quebec
Saint-Germain-de-Grantham is a municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 3,993.Saint-Germain-de-Grantham was the birth place of Marie Rose Ferron.-Population:Population trend-Language:...
and received his early education in that community and in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He later earned a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke
Université de Sherbrooke
The Université de Sherbrooke is a large university with campuses located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It is one of two universities, and the only French language university, in the Estrie region of Quebec.In 2007, the...
and was called to the bar of Quebec in 1974. He worked as a legal aid lawyer in Drummondville from 1974 to 1976 and earned a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in criminology from the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. Clair also wrote for a local newspaper and appeared on the radio station CHRD-FM
CHRD-FM
CHRD-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Drummondville, Quebec.Owned and operated by Astral Media, it broadcasts on 105.3 MHz using a directional antenna with an average effective radiated power of 2,900 watts and a peak effective radiated power of 4,750 watts .The station has...
.
Legislator
Clair was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1976 provincial electionQuebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
for the division of Drummond
Drummond (provincial electoral district)
Drummond is a provincial electoral riding in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Centre-du-Quebec region, the district was created in 1890. From 1867 to 1886, it was part of the riding of Drummond-Arthabaska...
. The Parti Québécois won a majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
in this election, and Clair entered the legislature as a backbench
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
supporter of René Lévesque's government. On May 17, 1979, he was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the minister of consumer affairs, cooperatives and financial institutions. At the time, he was the youngest cabinet minister in Quebec history.
Cabinet minister
Revenue ministerClair joined the Lévesque cabinet as revenue minister on September 21, 1979. In late 1980, he announced that Quebec would stop charging the provincial sales tax on advertising flyers in newspapers. He explained that neighbouring provinces did not tax the flyers, and that Quebec's printing industry had accordingly been at a disadvantage.
Transport minister
Clair was re-elected in the 1981 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1981
The Quebec general election of 1981 was held on April 13, 1981, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Claude Ryan.The PQ won re-election despite...
and was shifted to the position of transport minister on April 30, 1981. He completed an agreement with federal minister
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
Jean-Luc Pepin
Jean-Luc Pépin
Jean-Luc Pépin, PC, CC was a Canadian academic, politician and Cabinet minister.Pepin was a political science professor at the University of Ottawa when he was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1963 election as a Liberal Member of Parliament from Quebec.From 1965 to 1972, he...
the same June to modernize commuter transit in the Montreal area. The following month, however, he criticized the federal government for cancelling some regional train services and said that the closures would not have been necessary if proposed upgrades had been made five years earlier. In November 1981, Clair announced an appeal to the Federal Court of Canada
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
to stop the federal government's planned cutbacks.
In February 1982, Clair introduced legislation stipulating that all persons in the front seat of a moving vehicle be required to wear a seatbelt; taxi drivers, police, and young children had previously been exempted. He later introduced restrictions on the use of government planes by cabinet ministers. In May 1982, he announced that Quebec would end its use of bilingual stop signs by 1987, leaving only the French word "arrêt" on the famous octagonal red sign.
Clair took part in negotiations in 1982–83 to save the financially troubled Quebecair
Quebecair
Quebecair was a Canadian airline that operated from 1947 until 1986. Quebecair was headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, now a part of Montreal.-Company history:...
, North America's only French-language airline. He reached an agreement in principle with Ontario transport minister James Snow in August 1982 that would have seen a merger of Nordair
Nordair
Nordair is a defunct Quebec-based regional airline founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation. The airline operated from the 1950s to the 1980s. Most of its business was international and transatlantic passenger and freight charters and other contracts. It also...
and Quebecair with involvement from Air Ontario
Air Ontario
Air Ontario Inc. was a Canadian airline now part of Air Canada Jazz. It was headquartered in London, Ontario.- History :Air Ontario Inc. was established in June 1987, with the merger of Austin Airways, Canada’s oldest airline, which began service in 1934, and Air Ontario Ltd...
. The federal government rejected this plan and instead suggested replacing Quebecair with a new service co-owned by Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
and the Quebec government. Clair ultimately declined this proposal and announced in June 1983 that the Quebec government would take over and restructure the airline. This was not intended as a nationalization; Clair said that he hoped private investors would manage the company.
Clair strongly criticized the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
's decision in 1983 to shift its administrative offices for trucking and express services from Montreal to Toronto.
Treasury Board President
After a cabinet shuffle on March 5, 1984, Clair was named as president of the treasury board and minister responsible for administration. In early 1985, he introduced new labour legislation that cut the right of public-sector workers to strike over money issues, established a joint labour-management committee to study economic conditions and pay increases, and decentralized some aspects of bargaining to reflect local conditions. Quebec Federation of Labour president Louis Laberge
Louis Laberge
Joseph Léo Louis Laberge, OQ was a French Canadian labour union leader. He was president of the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec ....
and other labour leaders opposed some aspects of the bill, particularly the restrictions on the right to strike. The Lévesque government passed the legislation after invoking closure on debate.
Clair announced in March 1985 that Quebec would spend $27.4 billion in the 1985–86 fiscal year, an increase of 5.7 per cent over the previous year.
Internal PQ crisis
In 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis
Parti Québécois Crisis, 1984
The Parti Québécois Crisis of 1984 was one of the most severe internal party crises in Quebec politics.-Origins:In September 1984, Progressive Conservative politician Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister of Canada, with the backing of many Parti Québécois supporters...
over its support for Quebec sovereignty. Some leading party figures, including René Lévesque, wanted to moderate the party's position, while others favoured a more hardline stance in support of Quebec independence Clair sided with the moderates. When delegates at a party conference voted to tie the PQ to a hardline indépendantiste stand in the next provincial election, Clair quipped that he had "never seen turkeys so eager for Christmas."
The PQ's divisions continued until November 1984, when several indépendantiste hardliners resigned from the government. Clair served as acting minister of social affairs from November 27 to November 29, replacing one of the departed ministers until a full-time replacement was found.
Treasury Board/Energy and Resources
René Lévesque resigned as Parti Québécois leader and premier in June 1985, and Clair supported Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson, , is a Quebec lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th Premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985.- Early background :...
's successful bid to become the party's new leader. Johnson became premier in October 1985 and announced a cabinet shuffle on October 17, keeping Clair in the treasury board portfolio and giving him extra responsibilities as minister of energy and resources
Minister of Energy and Resources (Quebec)
The Minister of Energy and Resources is a former government ministry in the Canadian province of Quebec.The ministry was discontinued in 1994, when Daniel Johnson became premier of Quebec. The last minister to hold the position was Lise Bacon....
. On November 11, Clair approved almost two million dollars in mining exploration grants for seven companies.
The Parti Québécois lost the 1985 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1985
The Quebec general election of 1985 was held on December 2, 1985, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Robert Bourassa, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by premier Pierre-Marc Johnson.This election...
to the Quebec Liberal Party, and Clair was defeated in Drummond by the narrow margin of 102 votes. He formally resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on December 12, 1985.
Out of government
After the 1985 election, Clair worked as chief of staff to Pierre-Marc Johnson in the latter's role as leader of the official opposition. He resigned in December 1986 for what he described as "purely personal reasons." Clair later served as leader of the Quebec Association of Nursing Homes from 1987 to 1994; in September 1989, he described as strike by hospital and health-care workers as "unthinkable" in terms of its effects on elderly residents.Clair traveled to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
with a Montreal television crew in late 1989 to record a series of reports on the status of the country's minority Hungarian community. One of these reports included a clandestine interview with László Tőkés
László Tokés
László Tőkés is a Romanian politician of Hungarian ethnicity, currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament and Vice President of the European Parliament ....
, who was arrested shortly after the broadcast took place. Tőkés's arrest helped trigger the 1989 Romanian revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, and some have suggested that Clair's interview played a significant role in provoking the latter event.
Clair became president of the venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm Fondel Drummond in 1990.
Deputy minister and Hydro-Quebec administrator
The Parti Québécois were returned to office with a majority governmentMajority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
under Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...
's leadership in the 1994 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1994
The Quebec general election of 1994 was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.....
. Clair was not a candidate in the election but was appointed as deputy minister of energy and resources on November 28, 1994. By virtue of this position, he also served on the board of Hydro-Quebec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
. He resigned as deputy minister on May 5, 1997, to become executive vice-president of Hydro-Quebec's international affairs and projects group as well as president and chief executive officer of Hydro-Quebec International.
In September 1997, Clair announced that a new company co-owned by Hydro-Quebec would undertake a partnership with Pan American Enterprises to create a network of compressed natural gas stations in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He later helped negotiate deals for Hydro-Quebec in countries such as China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
. He stood down as president of Hydro-Quebec International in late 1999.
Health services
Clair was appointed by the government of Quebec to chair a commission on health and social services in 2000. While the commission held its hearings, some critics charged that Clair was biased in favour of privatization; he rejected this charge. Clair's report was submitted in January 2001, and its recommendations included an increased role for the private sector in health delivery, user fees on items such as meals and laundry for hospital patients, the guaranteed access of all Quebeckers to a family doctor, and the creation of a new publicly funded insurance plan to support treatment for disabled elderly persons. The report also suggested that some aspects of the Canada Health ActCanada Health Act
The Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer...
were outdated and led to unequal services; one example provided was that all doctor's visits were covered, while home care was not.
Clair later co-chaired a follow-up review of health services with Claude Castonguay
Claude Castonguay
Claude Castonguay, is a Canadian politician, educator and businessman.Born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of Émile Castonguay and Jeanne Gauvin, he studied at Université Laval and studied actuary science at the University of Manitoba....
, commissioned by the newspaper La Presse. This report also recommended restructuring the health system.
Clair became president of the Sedna Health Group Inc. in 2001. In 2009, he joined the advisory board of Barrett Xplore.
Electoral record
External links
- National Assembly biography (in French)