Former Minister Nadine Girault has died

Former Minister Nadine Girault has died –

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Former Minister Nadine Girault died on Monday at the age of 63. Lung cancer, which she had been battling for three years, killed her.

Nadine Girault passed away after a long illness.

“I am so saddened to learn of the passing of our former colleague and friend, Nadine Girault. Nadine was a passionate, determined, lovely woman. As Minister of International Relations, she has taken over the economic relocation of our delegations abroad,” wrote Prime Minister François Legault in a message published on social networks on Monday.

Ms. Girault was CAQ deputy for Bertrand from 2018 to 2022 and was Minister for International Relations and La Francophonie and Minister in charge of the Laurentians region. She also served as Minister of Immigration, Franciscation and Integration.

In the summer of 2019, Nadine Girault had to pause for a few weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

“[C’est] a more than unexpected diagnosis for me as I have never had a medical record, have never smoked and have always been in excellent physical condition and energetic,” she said at the opening of Parliament’s September 2019 session.

The minister’s health then allowed her to continue her activity for a few months before deteriorating again in November 2021, when she had to be absent for several months following a series of treatments, leaving her severely debilitated.

Then, on July 12, she announced “a temporary termination of office” and her decision to leave politics at the end of her term. But the cancer finally got the better of her a few months later.

Nadine Girault’s greatest achievement is restoring an economic development role to the Department of International Relations.

Ms. Girault has also appointed several women to positions representing Quebec abroad.

“We have reached the parity zone within our delegations. Diplomacy has often been described as a male domain. It was a point of honor for me to reverse that idea,” she said in a press release announcing her retirement from politics in July.

Ms. Girault was born to Haitian parents and is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. After spending part of her youth in Gaspé, she moved to the Laurentians in her twenties. From 1991 to 1996 she was Director of Continuing Education with the Montreal Metropolitan Community Police Service (now SPVM). She then held management positions at the Royal Bank of Canada, Caisse Desjardins and BMO Bank. In the 2018 elections, she was elected as Bertrand’s deputy. Prime Minister François Legault entrusted him with various ministries, including that of International Relations and La Francophonie.