QUEBEC CITY – Former Radio-Canada television journalist Christine Saint-Pierre, freshly elected Liberal MNA in last month’s Quebec election, joined the Cabinet today of Premier Jean Charest.
She takes over responsibility for Culture and Communications, as well as the Status of Women, in the Cabinet of Charest’s minority government. She succeeds Line Beauchamp, who moves into the Environment portfolio.
Saint-Pierre worked as a researcher and journalist with Radio-Canada for 30 years, including six years in Quebec City as National Assembly reporter covering some of the same politicians who will now be her colleagues.
She moved to Ottawa as parliamentary reporter in 1997 and then became Washington correspondent in 2001.
She was suspended temporarily last fall by Radio-Canada after she publicly expressed support for Canada’s mission in Afghanistan in a newspaper piece. She said during the campaign that the incident helped convince her to enter politics.
As Culture and Communications minister, the bilingual Saint-Pierre will have responsibility for information technology development, the Quebec film industry, and international cultural promotion.
Left out of Charest’s Cabinet was newly elected Pierre Arcand, until recently the president of Corus Québec Radio.
– Glenn Wanamaker
