Former International Relations Minister Nadine Girault has died, Prime Minister François Legault's office announced Monday.
Ms. Bertrand deputy from 2018 to 2022, Ms. Girault, who was 63 years, had chosen not to stand in the last elections because of his state of health.
Mr. Legault offered his condolences to the family and loved ones of Ms. Girault, whom he paid tribute to in a statement on social media.
“I am so sad to learn of the death of our former colleague and friend Nadine Girault, he wrote on Twitter. Nadine was a passionate, determined, endearing woman. As Minister of International Relations, she undertook the economic shift of our delegations abroad. »
I am so sad to hear of the passing of our former colleague and friend Nadine Girault. Nadine was a passionate, determined, endearing woman. As Minister of International Relations, she undertook the economic shift of our delegations abroad. pic.twitter.com/vMfo4HHInS
— François Legault (@francoislegault) February 13, 2023
Mr. Legault's office was unable to specify the time of the death of the former minister.
A portrait to reread:
- < li> Nadine Girault against all odds
Nadine Girault had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019. She then announced her temporary withdrawal, during a press briefing where she had explained that she had been in good health until then and had never smoked.
“For the first time in my life, the disease came like a thief,” she told reporters. This upsets intimacy, serenity and the agenda.
Ms. Girault had retained the post of Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie which had been offered to her at the start of the CAQ mandate in 2018. She also served as Minister of Immigration from 2020. Her colleague Jean Boulet had however taken over in November 2021.
Dignified and discreet
The Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, MP for Berthier, had forged ties of friendship with Ms. Girault from the start of the last mandate. Both riding neighbors, they took their first steps in politics together.
With ministers Sonia LeBel and Andrée Laforest, they used to meet to share their experiences in the antechamber of the Blue Room, before question period. She liked to laugh a lot, even if she was very unwell at the end, recalls Ms. Proulx.
“There was a great solidarity, she told Devoir. We were very close because we were all new to politics. It was tightly woven. We were chatting. I hugged Nadine and she was getting thinner and thinner.
Ms. Proulx emphasizes that Nadine Girault was a dignified and elegant woman who always remained very discreet about her state of health.
“Nadine is: we work, we continue,” she recalls. She never talked about it, or very rarely.
Despite not running in the October ballot, Ms. Girault continued to follow her colleagues. She wrote to Caroline Proulx regularly, such as during the swearing-in ceremony after the election.
“She's a great lady, very dignified,” she says.
Pioneer
The daughter of Haitian exiles, Nadine Girault has had an exemplary professional career marked by positions held in the financial sector, notably at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and as a director of Investissement Québec, underlines Ms. Proulx.
“ She was one of the first diverse African-Canadians to get into big jobs like that, she was a pioneer in that,” she says.
Born in Saint-Louis, Missouri, Nadine Girault grew up in Gaspé, where her family had settled when a return to Haiti became impossible due to the dictatorship. She had obtained a bachelor's degree and then a master's degree in business administration.
Ms. Girault had co-chaired the Action Group Against Racism (GACR), set up by the government, which notably recommended the creation of position of Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism.
The Interim Liberal Leader, Marc Tanguay, highlighted Ms. Girault's contribution.
“It is with great sadness that I learn of the death of Nadine Girault, he wrote on social media. She was a colleague of the National Assembly appreciated by all. My condolences and thoughts go out to his loved ones and family. »
It is with great sadness that I learn of the death by Nadine Girault. She was a colleague of the National Assembly appreciated by all. My condolences and thoughts go out to his loved ones and family. https://t.co/HPXdpeYQge
— Marc Tanguay (@marc_tanguay) February 13, 2023
