McGill alumni prominent in 2003 edition of Quebec cabinet

Ten members of the Quebec National Assembly elected in the April 2003 elections are McGill graduates, and two of them will hold major posts in the Liberal government's new cabinet.

Monique Jérôme-Forget, BA'71, PhD'77, was named to the powerful position of head of the Treasury Board and Thomas Mulcair, BCL'76, LLB'77, will be Minister of the Environment.

Monique Jérôme-Forget, the MNA for the Montreal riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys, has taught at McGill and has been a vice-rector of Concordia University. She was, as well, an assistant deputy minister in the federal ministry of health, and when the Liberals were in opposition in Quebec, was the party's critic for the key Finance portfolio.

Thomas Mulcair is the MNA for the Chomedey riding in Laval, north of Montreal. He is a former head of Quebec's Office des Professions and was the Liberal critic for many portfolios, including Justice and Access to Information.

In keeping with Premier Jean Charest's promise to reduce the size of the provincial cabinet, the new appointees were given more than one job in the new government: Jérôme-Forget will also be the Minister responsible for the Montreal region, and Mulcair will be House Leader.

McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum congratulated the McGill graduates and all the other MNAs elected to this Assembly, and added, "We look forward to working closely with the new government to achieve Quebec's highest ambitions."

The eight other McGill alumni who will sit as MNAs are:

Russell Copeman, BA'83 (Liberal)
Henri-François Gautrin, MSc'66 (Liberal)
Fatima Houda-Pepin, MLS'91 (Liberal)
Geoffrey Kelley, BA'81, MA'85 (Liberal)
François Ouimet, BCL'88, LLB'88 (Liberal)
Christos Sirros, BCom'70, MEd'76 (Liberal)
Camil Bouchard, PhD'74 (Parti Québécois)
Sylvain Simard, MA'70 (Parti Québécois)