Violette Trépanier
Encyclopedia
Violette Trépanier is a politician in the Canadian
province of Quebec
. She was a Liberal member of the National Assembly of Quebec
from 1985 to 1994 and was a minister in the governments of Robert Bourassa
and Daniel Johnson.
. She studied at the normal school
of Saint-Lambert
and has a bachelor's degree
in education from the Université de Montréal
(1966). She was a French teacher from 1966 to 1976.
Trépanier became a political attaché to legislator Jean-Pierre Saintonge
in 1981. She was chosen as vice-president of the Quebec Liberal Party the following year and served in this capacity until 1985.
Trépanier was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1985 provincial election
, defeating Parti Québécois
(PQ) incumbent Huguette Lachapelle
in the Montreal division of Dorion
. The Liberal Party won a majority government
in this election, and Trépanier entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of Robert Bourassa
's administration. From December 13, 1985, to March 3, 1989, she was the parliamentary assistant to the minister of municipal affairs.
She was promoted to the provincial ministry on March 3, 1989, serving as the junior minister responsible for cultural communities and immigration. She assisted Monique Gagnon-Tremblay
, who held the full cabinet portfolio for these files. Trépanier was re-elected over PQ candidate Joseph Facal
in the 1989 provincial election
and was re-assigned as the minister responsible for the status of women and minister responsible for the family on October 11, 1989.
During ceremonies marking the fiftieth anniversary of women's suffrage in Quebec in April 1990, Trépanier said that the greatest challenge of modern Quebec women was to create a society where family and work were compatible. "What women need is day care, flexible work schedules, maternity leave, pay equity and a lot of vigilance because the gains we have made are very fragile," she said. Later in the same year, she introduced a bill allowing parents to take thirty-four weeks of unpaid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child; she described the bill as the first step toward paid parental leave. She also ensured passage of a bill requiring that all divorcing couples in Quebec equally split the value of most shared assets developed during their relationship.
Trépanier criticized the federal government of Brian Mulroney
for cutting universal child care benefits and cancelling funding targeted to day care
. She introduced legislation in April 1992 to guarantee mandatory child support payments in the event of a separation or divorce, create 7,500 new day care spaces in three years, and set aside $1.8 million for pilot projects to enhance family life. She also re-affirmed her support for Quebec's universal family allowance policy, intended to encourage couples to have more children, which was introduced shortly before she was appointed to cabinet.
In late 1993, she introduced a new government policy document on women that proposed an employment equity law for all public sector and some private sector organizations with over one hundred employees. Some provincial groups representing women criticized the document as being for the most part vague and unspecific.
Trépanier was the minister responsible for the status women at the time of the École Polytechnique massacre
, in which lone gunman Marc Lepine
shot and murdered fourteen women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal
. In common with other female members of Bourassa's cabinet, Trépanier cautioned against interpreting the massacre as anything other than the act of a single psychopathic individual.
Johnson government
Trépanier supported Daniel Johnson's successful bid to succeed Robert Bourassa as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and premier of Quebec
in January 1994. When Johnson became premier on January 11, 1994, he appointed Trépanier to a full cabinet position as minister of revenue security. She also retained ministerial responsibility for the status of women and the family.
In March 1994, Trépanier and employment minister Serge Marcil
announced a $17.2 million program to assist persons on social assistance in starting up small businesses. Critics charged that it would be ineffective as it required recipients to provide two thousand dollars in cash or goods toward their project; some argued this was an unrealistic sum. Trépanier later announced the expansion of a program that encouraged social assistance recipients to accept temporary jobs for non-profit organization
s.
Trépanier also announced in March 1994 that Quebec would increase its monthly breastfeeding subsidy from $15 to $37.50, while simultaneously reducing funds for milk formula, in an effort to encourage more low-income women to nurse their infants. This decision received international attention.
She was not a candidate in the 1994 provincial election
and formally resigned from cabinet on September 26, 1994. She became director of recruiting and financing for the Quebec Liberal Party in 2001 and still held this position as of 2010.
parliamentarian Marcel Prud'homme
in his successful bid for re-election in the 1988 federal election
.
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....
. She was a Liberal 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 1985 to 1994 and was a minister in the governments 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...
and Daniel Johnson.
Early life and career
Trépanier was born in MontrealMontreal
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...
. She studied at the normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
of Saint-Lambert
Saint-Lambert, Quebec
Saint-Lambert is a Canadian city in the province of Quebec located opposite Montreal on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. Saint-Lambert was named for either the early French Canadian hunter Lambert Closse or for Roman Catholic Bishop Lambert of Maastricht...
and has a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in education 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...
(1966). She was a French teacher from 1966 to 1976.
Trépanier became a political attaché to legislator Jean-Pierre Saintonge
Jean-Pierre Saintonge
Jean-Pierre Saintonge is an educator, lawyer, judge and former political figure in Quebec. He represented La Prairie from 1981 to 1989 and La Pinière from 1989 to 1994 in the Quebec National Assembly as a Liberal.-Biography:...
in 1981. She was chosen as vice-president of the Quebec Liberal Party the following year and served in this capacity until 1985.
Legislator and cabinet minister
Bourassa governmentTrépanier was elected to the Quebec legislature 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...
, defeating 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...
(PQ) incumbent Huguette Lachapelle
Huguette Lachapelle
Huguette Lachapelle is a former politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. She served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1981 to 1985, representing the Montreal division of Dorion as a member of the Parti Québécois ....
in the Montreal division of Dorion
Dorion (provincial electoral district)
Dorion was a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Montreal region, the riding was formed in 1966 from parts of Montreal-Jeanne-Mance. In 1994, it became part of the new Laurier-Dorion...
. The Liberal Party 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 Trépanier 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 administration. From December 13, 1985, to March 3, 1989, she was the parliamentary assistant to the minister of municipal affairs.
She was promoted to the provincial ministry on March 3, 1989, serving as the junior minister responsible for cultural communities and immigration. She assisted Monique Gagnon-Tremblay
Monique Gagnon-Tremblay
Monique Gagnon-Tremblay is a politician in Quebec, Canada. She is the current MNA member for the riding of Saint-François in the Estrie region. She served as Liberal leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec from May 1998 to December 1998 and Deputy Premier in 1994 and from 2003...
, who held the full cabinet portfolio for these files. Trépanier was re-elected over PQ candidate Joseph Facal
Joseph Facal
Joseph Facal is a politician, academic, and journalist in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.-Early life and career:Facal was born...
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...
and was re-assigned as the minister responsible for the status of women and minister responsible for the family on October 11, 1989.
During ceremonies marking the fiftieth anniversary of women's suffrage in Quebec in April 1990, Trépanier said that the greatest challenge of modern Quebec women was to create a society where family and work were compatible. "What women need is day care, flexible work schedules, maternity leave, pay equity and a lot of vigilance because the gains we have made are very fragile," she said. Later in the same year, she introduced a bill allowing parents to take thirty-four weeks of unpaid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child; she described the bill as the first step toward paid parental leave. She also ensured passage of a bill requiring that all divorcing couples in Quebec equally split the value of most shared assets developed during their relationship.
Trépanier criticized the federal government of 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...
for cutting universal child care benefits and cancelling funding targeted to day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
. She introduced legislation in April 1992 to guarantee mandatory child support payments in the event of a separation or divorce, create 7,500 new day care spaces in three years, and set aside $1.8 million for pilot projects to enhance family life. She also re-affirmed her support for Quebec's universal family allowance policy, intended to encourage couples to have more children, which was introduced shortly before she was appointed to cabinet.
In late 1993, she introduced a new government policy document on women that proposed an employment equity law for all public sector and some private sector organizations with over one hundred employees. Some provincial groups representing women criticized the document as being for the most part vague and unspecific.
Trépanier was the minister responsible for the status women at the time of the École Polytechnique massacre
École Polytechnique massacre
The École Polytechnique Massacre, also known as the Montreal Massacre, was a hate crime perpetrated on December 6, 1989 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Twenty-five-year-old Gamil Rodrigue Liass Gharbi, who had changed his name to Marc Lépine, armed with a legally obtained...
, in which lone gunman Marc Lepine
Marc Lépine
Marc Lépine was a 25-year-old man from Montreal, Canada who murdered fourteen women and wounded ten women and four men at the École Polytechnique, an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal, in the "École Polytechnique massacre", also known as the "Montreal Massacre".Lépine...
shot and murdered fourteen women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal
École Polytechnique de Montréal
The École Polytechnique de Montréal is an engineering school/faculty affiliated with the University of Montreal in Montreal, Canada. It ranks first in Canada for the scope of its engineering research. It is occasionally referred to as Montreal Polytechnic, although in Quebec English its French...
. In common with other female members of Bourassa's cabinet, Trépanier cautioned against interpreting the massacre as anything other than the act of a single psychopathic individual.
Johnson government
Trépanier supported Daniel Johnson's successful bid to succeed Robert Bourassa as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and 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....
in January 1994. When Johnson became premier on January 11, 1994, he appointed Trépanier to a full cabinet position as minister of revenue security. She also retained ministerial responsibility for the status of women and the family.
In March 1994, Trépanier and employment minister Serge Marcil
Serge Marcil
Serge Marcil, PC was an educator, administrator and politician in Quebec, Canada.After studying to be a teacher in Montreal, Marcil obtained work at various secondary schools as an administrator...
announced a $17.2 million program to assist persons on social assistance in starting up small businesses. Critics charged that it would be ineffective as it required recipients to provide two thousand dollars in cash or goods toward their project; some argued this was an unrealistic sum. Trépanier later announced the expansion of a program that encouraged social assistance recipients to accept temporary jobs for non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s.
Trépanier also announced in March 1994 that Quebec would increase its monthly breastfeeding subsidy from $15 to $37.50, while simultaneously reducing funds for milk formula, in an effort to encourage more low-income women to nurse their infants. This decision received international attention.
She was not a candidate 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.....
and formally resigned from cabinet on September 26, 1994. She became director of recruiting and financing for the Quebec Liberal Party in 2001 and still held this position as of 2010.
Federal politics
Trépanier supported Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
parliamentarian Marcel Prud'homme
Marcel Prud'homme
Marcel Prud'homme, PC was a member of the Canadian Senate and was a long-time Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons....
in his successful bid for re-election in the 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
.
Electoral record
External links
- Biography, National Assembly of Quebec (in French)