Lucienne Robillard P.C., B.A., M.S.W., M.B.A.

Portfolio:
President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
MP Westmount - Ville-Marie (Montreal)

Past portfolios:
Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (December 2003 - July 2004), Minister of Labour (1995 - 1996), Minister responsible for the federal campaign in the Quebec referendum, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (1996 - 1999), Acting Minister of Communications (1996), Acting Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship (1996)

Education:
M.A., M.B.A. (Montreal)

The 58-year-old Montreal-born social worker began her political career in Quebec's National Assembly, holding a number of cabinet positions for the Liberal government. She was considered a star candidate and parachuted into federal politics in a 1995 by-election. She was appointed Labour minister and minister responsible for the Liberal's campaign against the Quebec referendum.

Robillard was later appointed to one of the top cabinet positions as minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

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2007

December 19, 2007 wi Lucienne Robillard,Westmount’s federalMP (under various riding configurations) since 1995, announced her resignation in the house of commons on December 12, effective January 25.

Thursday Apr 5, 2007 Robillard out for the count
After 17 years in politics - first in the National Assembly, then in the House of Commons - former Liberal...

ELIZABETH THOMPSON, The Gazette

Published: Thursday, April 05, 2007

After 17 years in politics - first in the National Assembly, then in the House of Commons - former Liberal cabinet minister Lucienne Robillard said yesterday she will not run in the next federal election.

Robillard, MP for Westmount-Ville-Marie, said she wants to move on to new challenges. In an interview with The Gazette, Robillard, 61, said her 60th birthday prompted her to reflect on just how much longer she could expect to be active and in good health and just how she wanted to spend the next 10 years. A serious accident last year in which she broke her leg restricted her movements for weeks but gave her time to think about the future.

"They say that people have four or five careers now in their professional lives," she said.

View Larger Image Off the campaign trail: Lucienne Robillard listens to ad director Pierre Ladouceur announcing the 2005 Liberal ad campaign for Quebec accompanied by Quebec Liberal organizer Pietro Perrino (centre) and fellow Liberal candidate Jean Lapierre. PIERRE OBENDRAUF, THE GAZETTE

"I am perhaps at my fourth."

She said she hopes to find something where her backgrounds in politics, management and social work can be useful. First, though, she plans to spend some time recharging and indulging in her passion for the outdoors.

While she has spent the past 12 years representing a riding that includes the well-off community of Westmount, her roots lie in working-class Rosemont, where she grew up.

When volunteer work in college with the Petits Peres des Pauvres showed her first hand the poverty some Montrealers faced, she ditched her plans to study math in university and went into social work.

Robillard was Quebec's public curator when she was recruited by Robert Bourassa's Liberals to run for the National Assembly in 1989, where she occupied a succession of cabinet posts, including culture, education and health and social services.

It was the reform of Quebec's CEGEP system, though, that Robillard counts as one of her greatest accomplishments as a Quebec cabinet minister.

After losing her National Assembly seat of Chambly in a close race in the 1994 election that brought the Parti Quebecois to power, Robillard got a call the next year from Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who was eager to reinforce his Quebec caucus in the lead-up to the 1995 referendum on sovereignty.

"I would have never gone to the federal government if my country hadn't been in danger," Robillard said.

While she rarely sought headlines, in his book The Way It Works, Chretien's former right-hand man, Eddie Goldenberg, described Robillard as one of the best ministers in cabinet.

She has been known to amaze senior civil servants who have sent her off for the weekend with thick stacks of documents only to discover to their surprise Monday morning that she had not only read everything but had a series of questions and comments waiting for them.

While she has occupied a large number of cabinet jobs, Robillard said some of her proudest accomplishments were preparing a reform of Canada's immigration law, introducing the new law on human resources in the public service and settling the question of employment equity in the federal civil service.

Her most memorable moment, however, was being at the airport when the first refugees from war-torn Kosovo arrived.

"To see the women and children arrive with the grandparents, but the father wasn't there because the father had been executed, that was a very moving moment."

The news that Robillard will be leaving the seat - usually considered a safe one for the Liberal Party - is expected to generate interest from a number of prospective candidates.

Among the names being touted are former Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau, a Westmount resident who gave up his job as head of the Canadian Space Agency to run unsuccessfully for the Liberals in the last election in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, and Brigitte Garceau, a lawyer and president of the Westmount-Ville-Marie riding association.

Garceau said yesterday she is reflecting on the idea of seeking the nomination but members of the riding association are still reeling from the shock of Robillard's news.

"I understand the reasoning and the decision and I have to respect that, but obviously it is a big loss. It's not only a loss for residents of Westmount-Ville-Marie but it's a loss for Quebecers and it's a loss for Canadians."

ethompson@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007

Liberal cabinet minister Lucienne Robillard quits

Longtime Liberal cabinet minister Lucienne Robillard says she will not run in the next federal election.

The Liberal deputy house leader is quitting after 12 years in Parliament representing a party stronghold in Montreal.

Robillard, 61, was first elected to the Commons in 1995 and was the cabinet minister responsible for the campaign in the sovereignty referendum that federalists narrowly won.

Robillard held several other portfolios in Jean Chretien’s government, including minister responsible for the treasury board and citizenship and immigration.

She spent nearly 20 years as a social worker before turning to provincial politics.

Robillard was elected to the Quebec legislature in 1989.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 Among those rumoured to be interested in filling Robillard's place are her riding president Brigitte Garceau and former Westmount mayor Peter Trent.

Tuesday Oct 3, 2006 Maintaining the tradition of Wednesday Night to discuss economic and market issues, we would also plan to raise the news from Reuters that Canada Emissions Trading Plan Awaits Ottawa Policy
- a topic dear to the heart of the Montreal Exchange.

Finally, at least one of us cannot resist taking a poke at the new Chief of Staff to the present Minister of Environment, who, according to our very own Lucienne Robillard, once headed an unnamed organization that disputed the science of climate change.

Sunday Oct 23, 2005 Lucienne, phone home

The Gazette

Ten years ago, the idea that Quebec might unilaterally declare independence following a Yes result in a referendum was not something spoken of in public, a question, it seems, of not wanting to scare the voters. The news Jacques Parizeau had gamed out a process leading in that direction, had his government won the 1995 referendum, came as a shock to separatists and federalists alike.

No such inhibition prevails today. All the contenders for the Parti Quebecois leadership, with one notable exception, profess to take it for granted a Yes result would lead to a unilateral declaration of independence.

Even front-runner Andre Boisclair said during this week's leadership debate he would declare independence the day following a referendum win. No-hoper Gillbert Paquette put it this way: The PQ should say "Take us with our option or don't vote for us at all."

Only Pauline Marois was more prudent, sticking with the party platform by saying merely as leader she would "tell voters that if they elect a PQ government they will give us a mandate to prepare for the next referendum."

All this plain talk is in one sense a huge improvement over the secrecy of 1995, when Parizeau was embarrassed by his leaked comment about Quebecers being like lobsters in a pot after a Yes victory. He was prepared to blindside Quebecers with a unilateral declaration.

This time, there is to be less surprise. This is welcome, because when Quebecers come to understand what the PQ is proposing, they are very likely to reject it. But the stakes are correspondingly higher.

There was also much talk, at a campaign event this week, about how the federal government and the rest of Canada will be "aggressive" in a new referendum campaign. It's an odd word from a bunch of people determined to break up such a successful country. The false and dangerous old myth that this issue is up to Quebecers alone stalks the land once again. The conditions set down by the Supreme Court of Canada in the reference case on this issue and the Clarity Act introduced by Stephane Dion - these seem to have evaporated somehow, and we're back to the bad old days when the separatist side sets all the rules.

Opinion polls show support for the usual sovereignty-association snake oil at around 50 per cent. Federalists need energetic, reasoned support from Ottawa. But when we called the office of Lucienne Robillard, the nearly invisible intergovernmental affairs minister, to ask about her coming speeches across this province, we got no response.

This is no time for the federal government to be out to lunch. Federalism needs defending now, before the other side manages once again to impose its own strange rules on this dangerous process.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005

Tuesday 18 January 2005 Robillard takes on Volpe's human resources load
Dealing with the problems faced by seasonal workers and negotiating a deal to allow Quebec to launch its own parental leave program will be top priorities, Lucienne Robillard said yesterday as she was sworn in as minister responsible for Canada's employment insurance system.
Appearing tanned and refreshed from a vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, Robillard said she is looking forward to the challenge of adding human resources and skills development minister to her existing duties as privy council president and minister of intergovernmental affairs.

Saturday Jan 15, 2005 Robillard: The antithesis of flashy

In calming the furor over Judy Sgro's ouster, Prime Minister Paul Martin has turned to low-key cabinet veteran Lucienne Robillard, who was first brought in by former prime minister Jean Chretien in the run-up to the 1995 referendum

Robillard, widely viewed as a competent if unspectacular performer, has been handed the reins to Human Resources Development.

Robillard, 59, arrived in cabinet in February of 1995 as Chretien sought to shore up his credibility among nationalist Quebecers.

Shortly after her arrival, Robillard was given the responsibility of representing Ottawa on the official referendum "No" committee.

Robillard, currently the minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and president of the Privy Council, is also seen as a defender of Quebec causes within cabinet and of "asymmetrical federalism" as it relates to the province.

Wednesday May 12, 2004 cbc
Feds announce task force on spam ...will spend the next year studying the problem ..Lucienne Robillard announced the Spam Task Force Tuesday. It is made up of legal experts, internet service providers and scholars. ...Industry Canada will hold a roundtable meeting to review the process in the fall of 2004 and will present its findings to the industry minister in 2005. Woopee! meanwhile we get over ..300 spams a day.

Friday Feb 6, 2004 CANADIAN ANTI-SPAM LAW MAY BE IN WORKS
Ottawa---Canada may get an anti-spam law. The industry minister, Lucienne Robillard, is considering legislation to fight unsolicited e-mails.
Robillard cites an American law aimed at curbing spam that came into force in January. She says it has been perceived to be somewhat effective.
A California law requires e-mail senders to obtain permission from a recipient before they can send electronic messages. About seven million Canadians receive unwanted e-mail every week. Ninety per cent of those messages originate outside of Canada.
Robillard plans to meet with Senator Donald Oliver, who introduced legislation last year that required internet providers to install filters to stop unwanted messages.

AN EVENING AT THE NICHOLSONS' #810 by the Hon Lucienne Robillard - député

click to her address | facts

Hon Lucienne Robillard site W-N Archive page

Friday Nov 8, 2002 oc
Bilingualism required for top bureaucrats Bilingualism will be a must to get to the top of the public service and anyone who wants to get ahead better start taking their language training now, says Treasury Board President Lucienne Robillard. In her proposal for a "fresh start," Ms. Robillard suggested getting rid of the bilingual bonus and "progressively" making fluency in both languages a qualification upon hiring for all jobs designated bilingual -- starting at the very top with deputy ministers and working down through the ranks of executives.
...Treasury Board has cracked down on the 3,200 federal executives now in bilingual jobs and ordered them to get their language skills up to standard by March, 2003 or risk a pay decrease or job transfer. The crackdown comes after 15 years of promises to make bilingualism mandatory for executives.
...Ms. Robillard said she is only proposing making bilingualism mandatory upon hiring for jobs designated bilingual. Under existing policy, the government has two kinds of bilingual jobs. One is "imperative," which means the person has to be bilingual upon hiring, and the other is non-imperative, which allows departments to hire unilingual anglophones and francophones, but they have two years to become fluent. Today, about 38 per cent of 148,400 jobs in the public service are bilingual.

September 26, 2001
The Honourable Lucienne Robillard Announces the Government On-Line Advisory Panel
OTTAWA - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Member of Parliament for Westmount--Ville-Marie, is pleased to announce the formation of the Government On-Line Advisory Panel and nomination of its co-chairs. The Panel will be instrumental in achieving the goals of the Government of Canada to improve service delivery by making government information available on-line by 2004.

Liberals vow to introduce ethics rules Guidelines to clarify roles, conduct of ministers, deputies, bureaucrats   Kathryn May The Ottawa Citizen

The Chrétien government intends to introduce guidelines that will clarify the blurred lines of accountability for deputy ministers and other senior bureaucrats as part of an ethics package promised in yesterday's throne speech.

Treasury Board President Lucienne Robillard said her department has been studying the way other countries, such as Britain and Australia, have sharpened the accountability of deputy ministers, who are responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of their departments.

Many argue the lines of responsibility between ministers, deputy ministers and other senior bureaucrats need to be reclarified.

Ministers, who set policy, are the ones ultimately responsible to Parliament for the administration of their departments, which means they have to take the heat when something goes wrong.

Ms. Robillard insists the new guidelines for senior bureaucrats won't water down or change the principle of "ministerial accountability" but rather will clearly lay out the responsibilities of deputy ministers, who must answer to parliamentary committees for how money is spent within their departments.

Ms. Robillard is also overseeing a major review of the government's sponsorship, advertising and polling policies and rules.

The measures are all part of the promised package Mr. Chrétien outlined last June in a bid to allay growing public concern over his government's ethical standards amid allegations of patronage, cronyism and ministerial conflict of interest. Until now, most of the focus on restoring public trust in government has revolved around setting new standards for elected officials, and senior bureaucrats have largely been overlooked.

The government will also strengthen the legislation governing lobbyists, which could affect the conduct of public servants, who are among the key players lobbyists target to shape policy or win contracts for goods and services.

Ms. Robillard said she is preparing a "second package" of ethical standards for all public servants that will be part of her plan to reform or "modernize" the public service, an initiative also reinforced in the throne speech. Many speculated that public service reform, which has already been delayed twice, had fallen off the priority list and would end up going nowhere.

"I've said all along we are doing it and now the prime minister ... is saying this is the will of government," said Ms. Robillard.

The throne speech also made a massive commitment to bilingualism, a fundamental Liberal value first enshrined in law 33 years ago.

The speech reinforced Ms. Robillard's recent promise measures will be taken this fall to make the public service an "ideal" bilingual workplace where using both languages becomes a way of life.

Ms. Robillard said the government won't change the Official Languages Act but plans a series of measures to better enforce it and regain some of the linguistic ground she worries may have been lost within the public service in recent years Money spent on language training, which has long waiting lists, was cut in half during the Liberals downsizing of the mid-90s and has never been fully restored.

Some of those measures could include the controversial proposals of Official Languages Commissioner Dyane Adam, who argues it's time for bilingualism to be considered a basic "competency" for a job in the public service.

The Throne Speech

© Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen with our thanks

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