Yvon Picotte
Encyclopedia
Yvon Picotte, born on October 27, 1941 in Louiseville, 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....

, is a politician from Quebec, Canada
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...

.

He was a five-term Liberal Member of the National Assembly
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...

, who represented the electoral district of Maskinongé
Maskinongé (provincial electoral district)
Maskinongé is a provincial electoral district that is located in the province of Quebec. Situated in the Mauricie region, it was created in 1853...

 from 1973
Quebec general election, 1973
The Quebec general election of 1973 was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale .The Liberals won a...

 to 1994
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.....

. He also was in charge of several portfolios in the second cabinet of Premier Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...

, including tourism and agriculture.

From 2002 to 2008, Picotte was a supporter of the Action démocratique du Québec
Action démocratique du Québec
The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....

. From 2004 to 2006, he served as President of that party. In May 2006, he made embarrassing comments about PQ Leader André Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....

. Boisclair had decided not to run in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 for the district of Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques
Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques
Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. It is bordered by the Autoroute 10, Victoria Bridge, Île Notre-Dame, Rue Frontenac, Rue Rachel and Boulevard Saint-Laurent. It...

 (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...

), the district where he lives and that is well known for its large gay population. Accusing Boisclair of being a coward, Picotte jokingly said that the riding would fit Boisclair, who is openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

, like a glove (comme un gant). Many journalists criticized Picotte, saying his comment sounded homophobic. Within days, Picotte apologized.

In October 2008, he announced that he would vote for local Liberal candidate and friend Jean-Paul Diamond in the next provincial election
39th Quebec general election
The Quebec general election of 2008 was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on December 8, 2008. Jean Charest was elected for his third mandate and formed a majority government...

.

Picotte currently is the Director of Pavillon du Nouveau Point de vue, an addiction intervention center.

External links

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