Pierre Paradis (born 16 July 1950) is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He represented Brome-Missisquoi in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1980 to 2018. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Robert Bourassa, Daniel Johnson Jr. and Philippe Couillard.
Paradis's brother, Denis Paradis, is a federal politician who served in the governments of Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. The Paradis brothers are political allies.This point is not as self-evident as it may seem. Some prominent Quebec siblings, including Daniel Johnson and Pierre-Marc Johnson, have been political rivals.
Early life and career
Paradis was born in Bedford in Quebec's Eastern Townships. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa (1973) and later took graduate studies in bills of exchange and business law at the same institution. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1975 and worked as a lawyer before entering politics, specializing in constitutional and administrative cases. At age twenty-seven, he won a case before the Supreme Court of Canada against proposed limits on egg marketing.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Paradis behind but not quitting", The Globe and Mail, 24 September 1983, p. 14.
Before joining the Liberal Party, Paradis was a member of the Union Nationale. He was a riding association president in the 1976 provincial election and later served on the party's provincial executive."Liberal sweep likely in Monday's four Quebec by-elections", The Globe and Mail, 15 November 1980, p. 4; Margot Gibb-Clark, "Bourassa tries comeback, joins Quebec Liberal race", The Globe and Mail, 20 August 1983, p. 12. He left when he learned that Union Nationale leader Rodrigue Biron was planning to support the "Oui" side in Quebec's 1980 referendum on sovereignty.
Member of the legislature
Paradis was elected to the National Assembly in a by-election held shortly after the 1980 referendum.He won the Liberal Party nomination over Rosaire Raymond, who served as the mayor of Cowansville from 1975 to 1983 and has owned several transportation companies. See Jennifer Robinson, "Down-to-earth Paradis wows Bourassa", Montreal Gazette, 28 March 1987, B4. For information on Raymond, see Paul Delean, "Wheels of fortune: Trucker's three daughters play a key role in firm's success", Montreal Gazette, 26 April 1999, F1, and Les entités municipales: Cowansville, Généalogie Québec. Retrieved 7 January 2010. He was re-elected in the 1981 general election. The Parti Québécois was in government during this period, and Paradis sat as a member of the official opposition.
Paradis was appointed as his party's labour critic in October 1982."Quebec Liberals shuffle critics", The Globe and Mail, 6 October 1982, p. 9. He increased his profile in early 1983 by asking rigorous questions of Parti Québécois members during a televised hearing into the role played by Quebec Premier René Lévesque's office in approving a contentious out-of-court settlement.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Levesque won't seek Liberal leadership", 21 July 1983, p. 11. The settlement produced a mini-scandal known in the local press as "Hydrogate".
There were rumours that Paradis would run for the Progressive Conservative Party in the 1984 Canadian federal election, although these ultimately came to nothing.Lawrence Martin, "Quebec seat for Mulroney in next election, Tories say", The Globe and Mail, 13 January 1984, p. 8; "'French power' in PM's Cabinet is Quebec aim", The Globe and Mail, 6 July 1984, p. 8.
Leadership candidate
Claude Ryan resigned as Liberal leader after his party's loss in the 1981 provincial election. A leadership convention was scheduled for 1983. Despite having a low public profile, Paradis declared himself a candidate.
Paradis centred his campaign around three principles: "respect for individual rights and freedoms", "the leading role of private enterprise in our economy", and "a firm commitment to [Canadian] federalism."Joyce Napier, "Paradis seeks to lead Liberals in Quebec", The Globe and Mail, 10 August 1983, p. 10. He also called for the Liberal Party to change its image and identify more with the province's regions.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Experience, youth seen as choices in Quebec contest", The Globe and Mail, 5 September 1983, p. 1. He favoured the sale of some crown corporations and was considered the most right-wing of the leadership candidates.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Bourassa tries comeback, joins Quebec Liberal race", 16 August 1983, p. 1; Margot Gibb-Clark, "Voter majority seen tonight Bourassa leadership win close", The Globe and Mail, 13 September 1983, p. 19. This notwithstanding, he also supported Quebec's universal medicare policy; one newspaper article described him as ideologically closer to Brian Mulroney, the leader of the federal Progressive Conservatives, than he was to Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States.
Several reports from the campaign described Paradis as a natural politician with effective organizational skills. One article referred to him as being "from the meat-cleaver school of oratory" with "no shadings of ambiguity."Margot Gibb-Clark, "Bourassa tries comeback, joins Quebec Liberal race", The Globe and Mail, 20 August 1983, p. 12. Gibb-Clark quoted the "meat-cleaver school" line from another, unnamed journalist.
Robert Bourassa won the 1983 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election with seventy-five per cent of delegate support at the convention. Paradis finished a distant second, narrowly ahead of third-place candidate Daniel Johnson Jr. Despite his loss, Paradis won the respect of other Liberals and improved his public standing through the campaign.Victor Maralek, "Losers got no second chance in vote", The Globe and Mail, 17 October 1983, p. 19. In November 1983, Bourassa appointed him as the party's social affairs critic."Bourassa keeping 2 leadership rivals in shadow cabinet", The Globe and Mail, 15 November 1983, N4.
In government, 1985–1994
Minister of Labour, Manpower and Income Security
The Liberals won a majority government in the 1985 provincial election, and Bourassa became premier of Quebec for a second time. There were early rumours that he would appoint Paradis as Minister of Agriculture, but this idea was opposed by the Union des producteurs agricoles.Graham Fraser, "Bourassa likely to pick former justice minister for finance portfolio", The Globe and Mail, 12 December 1985, A4. Instead, Bourassa appointed Paradis as Minister of Labour and Minister of Manpower and Income Security on 12 December 1985."Quebec Cabinet is sworn in", The Globe and Mail, 13 December 1985, A10.
Social assistance policy
Paradis revived a dormant government policy of sending inspectors to the homes of people receiving social assistance in 1986. He said this would reduce the number of erroneous files and likely save the province sixty-eight million dollars in one year."Welfare recipients to be checked", The Globe and Mail, 19 May 1986, A5. Critics charged that the inspections would lead to invasions of privacy and intimidation.Bertrand Marotte, "Quebec inspectors seek welfare fraud", The Globe and Mail, 13 June 1986, A8. The inspectors were nicknamed the Bou-bou Macoutes, a reference to both François Duvalier's notorious Tonton Macoutes and a diminutive nickname for Robert Bourassa. The Ligue des droits et libertés and the Quebec Human Rights Commission strongly opposed the practice, and the Quebec Legal Services Commission argued that mandatory visits were unconstitutional."Welfare inspections 'unconstitutional,' commission says", The Globe and Mail, 16 June 1986, A5; Francois Shalom, "Quebec groups denounce province's 'welfare-police' tactics", The Globe and Mail, 18 June 1986, N5. Paradis responded that the Justice Ministry had determined the visits were legal and that a provincial code of ethics would prevent abuses.Bertrand Marotte, "Welfare's home visits criticized", The Globe and Mail, 26 June 1986, A9. Following extensive criticism, the city of Montreal quietly stopped the inspections in January 1988.Sarah Scott, "Welfare officials rein in the 'bou-bou macoutes'", Montreal Gazette, 9 July 1988, B6.
Paradis also announced in 1986 that social assistance recipients who owned cottages, boats, second cars, snowmobiles, or houses with more than $50,000 equity would have their rates reduced. While acknowledging that out-of-work adults who had exhausted their unemployment insurance had the right to keep some of their possessions, he added that the government had to set limits on luxury items and that this reform would allow greater payments to the "truly needy."Robert McKenzie, "Welfare cut for Quebecers with cottages, boats", Toronto Star, 30 May 1986, A3.
In late 1987, Paradis introduced further reforms that increased payments for those unfit to work, provided financial assistance to low-paid parents of young children, introduced a tax credit allowing welfare recipients to take minor jobs without jeopardizing their payments, and ended a policy of paying older recipients more than younger recipients. The reforms also required that able-bodied recipients take training, do community work, or accept minor, low-paid jobs; failure to do any of these would result in payment cuts. Paradis argued that the new policy would allow more recipients to enter the workforce; critics argued it would provide a supply of cheap labour for Quebec businesses. A The Globe and Mail summary noted that the bill had both progressive and conservative elements.Benoit Aubin, "Quebec introduces sweeping reform of welfare program", The Globe and Mail, 11 December 1987, A13; Lise Bissonnette, "Paradis is determined to make welfare work", The Globe and Mail, 19 December 1987, D2.
Construction sector
Paradis introduced legislation in 1986 to create the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) to oversee Quebec's construction sector. The commission was overseen by representatives from labour, management, and the government and was mandated to issue certificates based on competency. Access to the construction trade had previously been determined by work experience, and Paradis said the new system would provide opportunities for younger workers.Robert McKenzie, "Quebec plans to overhaul construction industry", Toronto Star, 13 November 1986, A3. Some objected that the new regulations would allow more out-of-province workers to access the market, although Paradis denied this.
Other
Paradis initiated a back-to-work order in March 1986 that ended a strike of 4,200 blue-collar workers in Montreal. The strike affected garbage collection and road repair, and Paradis argued it had created a safety concern; he also charged that the union neglected its responsibility to provide essential services."Quebec set to halt Montreal strike", Toronto Star, 14 March 1986, A8; Graham Fraser, "Montreal outside workers are ordered to end strike", The Globe and Mail, 19 March 1986, A8. In June of the same year, he introduced emergency legislation to end a one-day strike of 100,000 construction workers across the province."Quebec construction at a standstill", The Globe and Mail, 17 June 1986, A11. In 1987, Paradis led cabinet in suspending the right to strike of maintenance workers in Montreal Transit."Transit workers lose strike right", The Globe and Mail, 4 May 1987, A5.
Paradis increased the provincial minimum wage from four dollars to $4.75 per hour between 1986 and 1988."Minimum wage in Quebec to rise to $4.75 an hour", The Globe and Mail, 3 June 1988, B4. He worked to prevent layoffs at the Steinberg grocery chain in 1988."Quebec puts conditions on aid to curtail layoffs at Steinberg", Toronto Star, 11 June 1988, SA2; Harvey Enchin, "Steinberg and union still seek a consensus", The Globe and Mail, 18 June 1988, B3. The chain was Quebec's third-largest employer.
Minister of Municipal Affairs