Guy Rivard
Encyclopedia
Guy Rivard is a former politician in the Canadian
province of Quebec
. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec
from 1985 to 1994 as a member of the Liberal Party and was a junior minister in the government of Robert Bourassa
. His handling of Quebec's language laws in 1989 attracted national attention.
and received his early education in that city. He attended the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf
from 1952 to 1956 and earned a medical degree at the Université de Montréal
between 1956 and 1961. He specialized in pediatrics in Montreal
, and later trained in respiratory illnesses at Yale University
from 1964 to 1967. In 1977, he received a diploma from the Executive Program for Health Systems Management at the Harvard Business School
.
Rivard was a pediatrician at the Hopital Sainte-Justine
in Montreal from 1967 to 1976 and was its director of professional services from 1976 to 1980. He also worked in various capacities at the Université de Montréal from 1967 to 1982, when he entered public administration as the deputy minister for Social Affairs in the Government of Quebec
. After serving in this capacity for two years, he returned to academia in 1984-85.
in the 1985 provincial election
, winning in the Montreal
division of Rosemont
. The Liberals won a majority government
in this election, and Rivard entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of Robert Bourassa
's government. On March 31, 1988, he was appointed as minister responsible for Cultural Affairs and minister responsible for French language legislation.
This appointment came at a time when linguistic tensions were increasing in Quebec, and the Globe and Mail newspaper described his new position as "the hottest political seat in the province." Rivard called himself an "honest broker" and indicated that he wanted to act "like a mediator, a gatherer of various groups." He spoke before the anglophone lobby Alliance Quebec
in May 1988, calling for greater cooperation among francophone and anglophone Quebecers.
Most of the controversy surrounding Quebec's language laws in this period was focused on the Charter of the French Language, popularly known as Bill 101. This legislation was enacted by the Parti Québécois
government of René Lévesque
in 1977, and one of its more controversial provisions was a restriction on the use of languages other than French on commercial signs. In December 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada
struck down three sections of the law as violating the provisions for freedom of expression set out in the Constitution of Canada
. The Quebec government responded by amending the legislation to prohibit languages other than French on outdoor commercial and public signs, while permitting indoor signs to be bilingual or multilingual provided the French text was dominant. This decision met with opposition from both the anglophone and francophone communities: three anglophone cabinet ministers resigned from the Bourassa government in protest, while the opposition Parti Québécois attacked the allowance of indoor bilingual signs as an assault on the French language. Under the new legislation, Rivard was given ministerial responsibility for determining regulations to enforce the language law. This was previously the responsibility of the Office de la Langue Francaise, a semi-independent body appointed by the government.
Rivard's handling of the language legislation was criticized in some circles, and a Toronto Star
article in February 1989 described him as "inexperienced, easily flustered, naive, a trifle pedantic" and "the kind of cabinet minister that a hungry opposition dreams about." On March 3, Rivard was re-assigned to the lower-profile position of minister responsible for Technology while cabinet heavyweight Claude Ryan
took responsibility for language.
Rivard was narrowly re-elected in the 1989 provincial election
, defeating Parti Québécois challenger Sylvain Simard
by only 133 votes. On October 11, he was reassigned again as Minister responsible for the Francophonie. He represented Quebec at the first inauguration of Jean-Bertrand Aristide
as president of Haiti
in 1991. In the same year, he expressed skepticism about Canadian Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
's plans to link foreign aid to human rights
. While affirming that Quebec would assist countries moving toward democracy, he also said that countries with dubious human rights records should not be cut off entirely. Rivard received additional responsibility as minister responsible for International Affairs on May 27, 1992.
Robert Bourassa announced his retirement as Premier of Quebec
and Liberal Party leader in 1993, and Rivard supported Daniel Johnson's successful campaign to become Bourassa's successor. Rivard later announced that he would not seek re-election to the legislature, and he stepped down from cabinet when Johnson became premier on January 11, 1994.
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 served in 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 1985 to 1994 as a member of the Liberal Party and was a junior minister in the government of 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...
. His handling of Quebec's language laws in 1989 attracted national attention.
Early life and career
Rivard was born in Trois-RivièresTrois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
and received his early education in that city. He attended the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf
Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf
Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf is a private French-language educational institution offering secondary school and CEGEP college-level instruction in Montreal, Quebec. It is a co-ed establishment for students in their final year of secondary school and in college. It is boys-only in the first four years...
from 1952 to 1956 and earned a medical degree at 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...
between 1956 and 1961. He specialized in pediatrics 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...
, and later trained in respiratory illnesses at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
from 1964 to 1967. In 1977, he received a diploma from the Executive Program for Health Systems Management at the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
.
Rivard was a pediatrician at the Hopital Sainte-Justine
Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine
The Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine is a pediatric university health centre affiliated with the Université de Montréal, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
in Montreal from 1967 to 1976 and was its director of professional services from 1976 to 1980. He also worked in various capacities at the Université de Montréal from 1967 to 1982, when he entered public administration as the deputy minister for Social Affairs in the Government of Quebec
Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec refers to the provincial government of the province of Quebec. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
. After serving in this capacity for two years, he returned to academia in 1984-85.
Political career
Rivard was elected to the National Assembly of QuebecNational 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...
in 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...
, winning in the 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...
division of Rosemont
Rosemont (provincial electoral district)
Rosemont is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. Its boundaries are Dickson Street and Lacordaire Boulevard to the east. Sherbrooke Street to the south, the Canadian Pacific Railway and 6th...
. The Liberals 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 Rivard entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of 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...
's government. On March 31, 1988, he was appointed as minister responsible for Cultural Affairs and minister responsible for French language legislation.
This appointment came at a time when linguistic tensions were increasing in Quebec, and the Globe and Mail newspaper described his new position as "the hottest political seat in the province." Rivard called himself an "honest broker" and indicated that he wanted to act "like a mediator, a gatherer of various groups." He spoke before the anglophone lobby Alliance Quebec
Alliance Quebec
Alliance Quebec was a group formed in 1982 to lobby on behalf of English-speaking Quebecers in the province of Quebec, Canada. It began as an umbrella group of many English-speaking organizations and institutions in the province, with approximately 15,000 members. At its height in the mid-1980s,...
in May 1988, calling for greater cooperation among francophone and anglophone Quebecers.
Most of the controversy surrounding Quebec's language laws in this period was focused on the Charter of the French Language, popularly known as Bill 101. This legislation was enacted by the 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...
government 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...
in 1977, and one of its more controversial provisions was a restriction on the use of languages other than French on commercial signs. In December 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
struck down three sections of the law as violating the provisions for freedom of expression set out in the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...
. The Quebec government responded by amending the legislation to prohibit languages other than French on outdoor commercial and public signs, while permitting indoor signs to be bilingual or multilingual provided the French text was dominant. This decision met with opposition from both the anglophone and francophone communities: three anglophone cabinet ministers resigned from the Bourassa government in protest, while the opposition Parti Québécois attacked the allowance of indoor bilingual signs as an assault on the French language. Under the new legislation, Rivard was given ministerial responsibility for determining regulations to enforce the language law. This was previously the responsibility of the Office de la Langue Francaise, a semi-independent body appointed by the government.
Rivard's handling of the language legislation was criticized in some circles, and a Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
article in February 1989 described him as "inexperienced, easily flustered, naive, a trifle pedantic" and "the kind of cabinet minister that a hungry opposition dreams about." On March 3, Rivard was re-assigned to the lower-profile position of minister responsible for Technology while cabinet heavyweight Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan, was a Canadian politician and leader of the Parti libéral du Québec from 1978 to 1982. He was also the National Assembly of Quebec member for Argenteuil from 1979 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
took responsibility for language.
Rivard was narrowly re-elected in the 1989 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1989
The Quebec general election of 1989 was held on September 25, 1989, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...
, defeating Parti Québécois challenger Sylvain Simard
Sylvain Simard
Sylvain Simard is a politician and academic based in the Canadian province of Quebec. He has represented Richelieu in the National Assembly of Quebec since 1994 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry. Simard is a member of the Parti Québécois .-Early...
by only 133 votes. On October 11, he was reassigned again as Minister responsible for the Francophonie. He represented Quebec at the first inauguration of Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
as president of Haiti
President of Haiti
The President of the Republic of Haiti is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government headed by the Prime Minister of Haiti...
in 1991. In the same year, he expressed skepticism about Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
's plans to link foreign aid to human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. While affirming that Quebec would assist countries moving toward democracy, he also said that countries with dubious human rights records should not be cut off entirely. Rivard received additional responsibility as minister responsible for International Affairs on May 27, 1992.
Robert Bourassa announced his retirement as Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
and Liberal Party leader in 1993, and Rivard supported Daniel Johnson's successful campaign to become Bourassa's successor. Rivard later announced that he would not seek re-election to the legislature, and he stepped down from cabinet when Johnson became premier on January 11, 1994.