Ginette L'Heureux

Ginette L'Heureux is an administrator and former politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was a member of the Montreal city council from 1986 to 1994, serving as a member of the Montreal Citizens' Movement (MCM) party.

Early life and career

L'Heureux worked as an aide to Parti Québécois (PQ) legislator Louise Harel before her own election and supported Pauline Marois's first bid for the PQ leadership in 1985.^[1] She was thirty-seven years old in late 1986 and administered a project to reintegrate women into the workforce.^[2]

Municipal councillor

L'Heureux was first elected to the Montreal city council in the 1986 municipal election, defeating a Civic Party candidate in the east-end Maissoneuve ward.^[3] The MCM won a landslide majority in this election, and L'Heureux was appointed by new mayor Jean Doré as his assistant on international affairs.^[4] She was also appointed to the board of directors of the Montreal Urban Community Transit Corp. (MUCTC).^[5]

L'Heureux took part in a delegation to China in 1987 with Mayor Doré and other officials.^[6] In July 1989, however, she announced that Montreal would discontinue several planned political exchanges with Shanghai to protest China's campaign against political dissidents following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The two cities had signed a friendship agreement four years earlier.^[7] L'Heureux later attended a meeting of francophone mayors in Gabon and led a city delegation to Russia.^[8]

She was re-elected in the 1990 municipal election, in which the MCM won a second consecutive majority. She continued to serve as Montreal's international affairs representative and as a MUCTC director after the election.^[9] In September 1992, she took part in a municipal delegation to Moscow.^[10]

L'Heureux was named as interim chair of the MUCTC in August 1994, when Robert Perreault resigned to run for provincial office.^[11] The following month, she announced that more than 1,600 advertising spaces on buses and trains had been made available for anti-violence advertising.^[12] She did not seek re-election in the 1994 municipal election and was replaced as MUCTC chair by Yves Ryan in November 1994.^[13]

Administrator

L'Heureux was later appointed as a spokesperson for the Quebec Human Rights Commission.^[14] In 2007, she issued an opinion that a Parti Québécois proposal requiring all newcomers to Quebec to prove their knowledge of French before being granted citizenship was discriminatory.^[15]

Electoral record

1990 Montreal municipal election results: Councillor, Maisonneuve Party Candidate Total votes % of total votes Montreal Citizens' Movement Ginette L'Heureux (incumbent) 2,065 51.06 Civic Party of Montreal Jean-Guy Beland 1,095 27.08 Municipal Party Marcel Pitre 586 14.49 Democratic Coalition Robert Aubin 168 4.15 White Elephant Party Marc Lavigne 130 3.21 Total valid votes 4,044 100 Source: Election results, 1833-2005 (in French), City of Montreal.

1986 Montreal municipal election results: Councillor, Maisonneuve Party Candidate Total votes % of total votes Montreal Citizens' Movement Ginette L'Heureux 3,702 65.98 Civic Party of Montreal Roger Gallagher 1,909 34.02 Total valid votes 5,611 100 Source: Election results, 1833-2005 (in French), City of Montreal.

References

1. Ingrid Peritz, "Dore team waiting in the wings; MCM stalwarts set to take top city jobs if party wins Nov. 9," Montreal Gazette, 1 November 1986, B1.
2. Robert Winters, "Who is who in the new MCM administration; MCM backbenchers will demand more say in decision-making than Drapeau-era councillors," Montreal Gazette, 15 November 1986, A4.
3. Irwin Block, "Independent's election win confirmed," Montreal Gazette, 19 November 1986, A3.
4. Ingrid Peritz, "Cultural council a priority, Dore says," Montreal Gazette, 26 November 1986, A2.
5. Lewis Harris, "City, suburbs split power on new MUC council," Montreal Gazette, 27 November 1986, A3.
6. Lewis Harris, "Dore defends spending $210,000 on travel," Montreal Gazette, 17 October 1990, A3.
7. "Montreal cuts ties with China over 'repression campaign'," Montreal Gazette, 15 July 1989, A3; "Montreal cools Shanghai policy," Globe and Mail, 17 July 1989, A8.
8. Peter Kuitenbrouwer, "City's 'boss of bosses' now paid $127,300 a year," Montreal Gazette, 22 July 1989, A3; "Moscow delegation visiting Montreal," Montreal Gazette, 30 January 1990, A3.
9. Marian Scott, "Going internationale; New look in the works for old part of town," Montreal Gazette, 5 December 1990, A3; Mary Lamey, "Transit authority to cut service on three bus routes in east end," Montreal Gazette, 17 July 1991, A4.
10. Elizabeth Thompson, "Dore attacked for plan to visit Moscow; But mayor says helping Russians will mean jobs for Montrealers," Montreal Gazette, 15 September 1992, A3.
11. "L'Heureux replaces Perreault as interim chairman of MUCTC," Montreal Gazette, 11 August 1994, A3.
12. James Mennie, "Anti-violence campaign targets teenagers," Montreal Gazette, 16 September 1994, A4.
13. Alexander Norris, "Yves Ryan set to be next transit boss; Montreal North mayor is suburbs' choice to take over MUCTC," Montreal Gazette, 27 November 1994, A3.
14. "Costco can't reject members due to economic status: Quebec," Canada Press Newswire, 8 June 2000.
15. Kevin Dougherty, "Rights commission 'astonishes' Marois; Spokesperson tells paper Bill 195 violates charter," Montreal Gazette, 27 October 2007, A11.