Monique Bégin

Monique Bégin PC OC FRSC (born March 1, 1936 in Rome ) is a Canadian sociologist , university professor and politician of the Liberal Party of Canada , who was a member of the lower house for several years and was a minister several times.

Life

Studies and MPs

After attending school, Monique Bégin, who grew up in Portugal and France and immigrated to Canada with her parents after the Second World War , studied sociology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Master of Arts (MA) ) from the University of Montreal , and also earned a Philosophiae Doctor ( Ph.D. ) from the Paris Sorbonne University and a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.). In 1967 she was appointed Executive Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women .

In the general election of October 30, 1972 , she was elected as a candidate of the Liberal Party for the first time as a member of the lower house and represented the constituency of Saint-Michel until the general election on May 22, 1979 and then the constituency of Saint-Léonard until September 4, 1984 -Anjou . When she was first elected in 1972, she was one of the first three women MPs from the province of Quebec in the Canadian lower house, alongside Albanie Morin and Jeanne Sauvé . At the beginning of her parliamentary activity she was between January 1973 and February 1974 Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Other Estimates.

In October 1975 Monique Bégin took over her first government office and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister until September 1976.

Minister and university professor

Then she was appointed Minister for National Income in the 20th Canadian Cabinet on September 14, 1976 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , and after a cabinet reshuffle from September 16, 1977 until the end of Trudeau's term on June 3, 1979, she was Minister for national health and welfare took over. After the Liberal Party's victory in the general election of February 18, 1980, she held the office of Minister for National Health and Welfare in the 20th government of Canada, also formed by Trudeau, and in the subsequent government of John Turner from June 30 to September 16, 1984 led the 23rd government .

During her tenure as Minister of National Health and Welfare it was particularly for the rights of women, older people, indigenous people and children and created especially by a Health Act ( Canada Health Act ) and the tax benefit of children ( Child Tax Credit ) Progress policy Benefit of the Canadian people. In the election of September 4, 1984 , she decided not to run again.

She then took over a professorship in sociology and women's sciences at the joint chair of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in 1986 and taught there until her retirement in 1997. During this time, she was also Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and from 1990 to 1997 between 1993 and 1995 co-chair of the Royal Commission for Education of Ottawa with Gerald Caplan .

In recognition of her achievements as a politician and university teacher, Monique Bégin, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada , was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada on October 23, 1997 . Most recently, she was treasurer of the International Center for Migration and Health and Development (ICMHD) in Geneva .

Web links

• Entry on Parliament's homepage
• Order of Canada