Philippe Couillard

Infobox QuebecMNA | name= Philippe Couille Hard


caption=
cabinet=
term_start=May 1, 2003
term_end=June 25, 2008
predecessor= Margaret F. Delisle
birth_date= birth date and age |1957|06|26
birth_place= Montreal, Quebec
successor= Yves Bolduc
death_date=
death_place=
profession= Teacher, neurosurgeon
party= Quebec Liberal Party
party colour= Liberal
residence=
riding=Jean-Talon (2007-2008), Mont-Royal (2003-2007)
portfolio=
footnotes=
term_start2=
term_end2=
predecessor2=
successor2=
spouse= Suzanne Pilote|

Philippe Couillard M.D., (born June 26, 1957 in Montreal) was a politician, and former university professor and neurosurgeon in Quebec, Canada. He currently serves as the Quebec Minister for Health and Social Services in the government of Jean Charest. Couillard holds a medical degree and a certification in neurosurgery from the Université de Montréal. He was the head of the department of neurosurgery at St-Luc hospital from 1989 to 1992 and again at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke from 1996 to 2003. From 1992 to 1996, he practised in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 2003, he left the medical profession to run for a seat in the National Assembly representing the Quebec Liberal Party. He was elected MNA for Mont-Royal in the 2003 election and was appointed Minister of Health and Social Services on April 29, 2003.

Since taking office, he has proven quite skillful in the handling of his department's public relations and is regarded by a few people as the most popular minister in the Charest government. [cite web | author = Le Devoir | title = Ministère - Un réseau en santé... relative | url = http://www.ledevoir.com/2006/09/30/119203.html?268 | accessdate = October 6| accessyear = 2006 ] His accomplishments during his tenure have included a $4.2 billion dollar increase in the Quebec health budget, the prohibition of smoking in public places, and a reduction in the number of union local accreditations in the health sector.

Other projects that may possibly be realised in the future are the construction of two super-hospitals in the Montreal area, that of Université de Montréal and another one from the McGill University. However, planning for these projects has been delayed for various reasons for over eight years (as of 1999) and to date construction has not begun on either super-hospital [cite web | author = The Gazette | title = Talking time is over | url = http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=2375ea2e-93d1-47b7-b5ca-2814f6739de2 | accessdate = November 27| accessyear = 2006 ] . It should be noted that both of these projects were conceived long before Couillard came to power, and in fact Couillard himself has significantly contributed to their delay as he sought to decrease his government's funding of them through the creation of public-private partnerships.

In 2006 and 2007, there were rumours that Couillard would jump to federal politics and being a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in a future federal election, but denied it. [http://lcn.canoe.com/lcn/national/archives/2007/01/20070122-114615.html] Meanwhile, Couillard announced his candidacy for the riding of Jean-Talon in the Quebec City area, replacing Margaret Delisle who did not seek a re-election due to health reasons. Couillard won the 2007 elections despite the Action democratique du Quebec's (ADQ) strong performance in the region in which the party gained the majority of the seats. Pierre Arcand succeeded Couillard in the Mont-Royal riding. He was renamed the Health and Social Services Minister as well as the responsible for the Capitale-Nationale (Quebec) region.

On June 25, 2008, Couillard officially announced his resignation as Minister and MNA. He was succeded as Minister and Jean-Talon MNA by locally-known Alma doctor Yves Bolduc. [http://www.canoe.com/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2008/06/20080625-102043.html] [http://www.canoe.com/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2008/06/20080625-141903.html]

ee also

*Politics of Quebec
*Quebec general elections
*Quebec Federalism
*Quebec Liberal Party

References

External links

* [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/eng/Membres/notices/c/coup4.shtml National Assembly biography]