Michel Clair (born June 16, 1950) is an administrator and former politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976 to 1985 and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque and Pierre-Marc Johnson. Clair later became an executive administrator with Hydro-Québec.
Early life and career Clair was born in Saint-Germain-de-Grantham and received his early education in that community and in Montreal, Quebec. He later earned a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke and was called to the bar of Quebec in 1974. He worked as a legal aid lawyer in Drummondville from 1974 to 1976 and earned a master's degree in criminology from the Université de Montréal. Clair also wrote for a local newspaper and appeared on the radio station CHRD-FM.
Legislator Clair was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1976 provincial election for the division of Drummond. The Parti Québécois won a majority government in this election, and Clair entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of René Lévesque's government. On May 17, 1979, he was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the minister of consumer affairs, cooperatives and financial institutions. At the time, he was the youngest cabinet minister in Quebec history.Elizabeth Thompson, "Young gun in Quebec City: Boisclair's role belies his background," Montreal Gazette, 3 June 1996, A1. This source wrongly identifies Clair as a Liberal
Cabinet minister Revenue minister Clair joined the Lévesque cabinet as revenue minister on September 21, 1979.Ian Rodger, "Ex-minister Tremblay blasts Levesque," Globe and Mail, 22 September 1979, p. 11. In late 1980, he announced that Quebec would stop charging the provincial sales tax on advertising flyers in newspapers. He explained that neighbouring provinces did not tax the flyers, and that Quebec's printing industry had accordingly been at a disadvantage."Sales tax," Globe and Mail, 17 December 1980, B6.
Transport minister Clair was re-elected in the 1981 provincial election and was shifted to the position of transport minister on April 30, 1981."Levesque ignores two anglophones in Cabinet shuffle," Globe and Mail, 1 May 1981, p. 8. He completed an agreement with federal minister Jean-Luc Pepin the same June to modernize commuter transit in the Montreal area."Quebec transit to be updated," Globe and Mail, 27 June 1981, p. 11. The following month, however, he criticized the federal government for cancelling some regional train services and said that the closures would not have been necessary if proposed upgrades had been made five years earlier."Lack of federal foresight ruining rail, minister says," Globe and Mail, 30 July 1981, p. 8. In November 1981, Clair announced an appeal to the Federal Court of Canada to stop the federal government's planned cutbacks."Stop Via Rail cutbacks, Quebec asks Federal Court," Globe and Mail, 11 November 1981, p. 12.
In February 1982, Clair introduced legislation stipulating that all persons in the front seat of a moving vehicle be required to wear a seatbelt; taxi drivers, police, and young children had previously been exempted."Seatbelt law tightened up in Quebec," Globe and Mail, 13 February 1982, p. 14. He later introduced restrictions on the use of government planes by cabinet ministers."PQ toughens travel rules for ministers," Globe and Mail, 3 March 1982, p. 10; Margot Gibb-Clark, "Despite tough spending cuts, Quebec braced for big deficit," Globe and Mail, 24 May 1982, p. 3. In May 1982, he announced that Quebec would end its use of bilingual stop signs by 1987, leaving only the French word "arrêt" on the famous octagonal red sign."Quebec Calling a Halt To English Stop Sign," New York Times, 14 May 1982.
Clair took part in negotiations in 1982–83 to save the financially troubled Quebecair, North America's only French-language airline. He reached an agreement in principle with Ontario transport minister James Snow in August 1982 that would have seen a merger of Nordair and Quebecair with involvement from Air Ontario.David Stewart-Patterson, "Quebec, Ontario airlines plan merger," Globe and Mail, 10 August 1982, B1. The federal government rejected this plan and instead suggested replacing Quebecair with a new service co-owned by Air Canada and the Quebec government.David Stewart-Patterson, "Ottawa wants new airline to replace Quebecair," Globe and Mail, 23 November 1982, B1; Wendie Kerr, "Rejection by Ottawa of merger of airlines puzzles SID president," Globe and Mail, 24 November 1982, B5. Clair ultimately declined this proposal and announced in June 1983 that the Quebec government would take over and restructure the airline. This was not intended as a nationalization; Clair said that he hoped private investors would manage the company.Wendie Kerr and Margot Gibb-Clark, "Quebecair taken over by province," Globe and Mail, 22 June 1983, B1; Margot Gibb-Clark, "Change of face for the summer," Globe and Mail, 27 June 1983, p. 8.
Clair strongly criticized the Canadian National Railway's decision in 1983 to shift its administrative offices for trucking and express services from Montreal to Toronto."CN planning to merge 2 units' administration," Globe and Mail, 17 June 1982, B12.
Treasury Board President After a cabinet shuffle on March 5, 1984, Clair was named as president of the treasury board and minister responsible for administration. In early 1985, he introduced new labour legislation that cut the right of public-sector workers to strike over money issues, established a joint labour-management committee to study economic conditions and pay increases, and decentralized some aspects of bargaining to reflect local conditions."Closure used to cut debate on service bill," Globe and Mail, 15 June 1985, p. 12. Quebec Federation of Labour president Louis Laberge and other labour leaders opposed some aspects of the bill, particularly the restrictions on the right to strike."Labor troubles loom: unions," Globe and Mail, 31 January 1985, p. 8; "Quebec labor protests against anti-strike bill," Globe and Mail, 4 February 1985, p. 5. The Lévesque government passed the legislation after invoking closure on debate."Closure used to cut debate on service bill," Globe and Mail, 15 June 1985, p. 12.
Clair announced in March 1985 that Quebec would spend $27.4 billion in the 1985–86 fiscal year, an increase of 5.7 per cent over the previous year.Graham Fraser, "Auto crash costs shifted to insurance fund Quebec spending set at $27.4 billion," Globe and Mail, 20 March 1985, p. 4. Internal PQ crisis In 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis over its support for Quebec sovereignty. Some leading party figures, including René Lévesque, wanted to moderate the party's position, while others favoured a more hardline stance in support of Quebec independence Clair sided with the moderates. When delegates at a party conference voted to tie the PQ to a hardline indépendantiste stand in the next provincial election, Clair quipped that he had "never seen turkeys so eager for Christmas."Graham Fraser and Margot Gibb-Clark, "Levesque swallows reservations on sovereignty stand," Globe and Mail, 11 June 1984, p. 1.
The PQ's divisions continued until November 1984, when several indépendantiste hardliners resigned from the government. Clair served as acting minister of social affairs from November 27 to November 29, replacing one of the departed ministers until a full-time replacement was found.Graham Fraser and Margot Gibb-Clark, "Levesque patches Cabinet holes as sixth minister quits," Globe and Mail, 28 November 1984.
Treasury Board/Energy and Resources René Lévesque resigned as Parti Québécois leader and premier in June 1985, and Clair supported Pierre-Marc Johnson's successful bid to become the party's new leader.Daniel Drolet, "Caucus support is leaning heavily towards Johnson," Montreal Gazette, 16 July 1985, A4. Johnson became premier in October 1985 and announced a cabinet shuffle on October 17, keeping Clair in the treasury board portfolio and giving him extra responsibilities as minister of energy and resources."Premier responsible for second portfolio," Globe and Mail, 17 October 1985, A5. On November 11, Clair approved almost two million dollars in mining exploration grants for seven companies.Andrew McIntosh, "Quebec ridings given $140 million by PQ gravy train," Globe and Mail, 2 December 1985, A4.
The Parti Québécois lost the 1985 provincial election to the Quebec Liberal Party, and Clair was defeated in Drummond by the narrow margin of 102 votes. He formally resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on December 12, 1985.
Out of government After the 1985 election, Clair worked as chief of staff to Pierre-Marc Johnson in the latter's role as leader of the official opposition. He resigned in December 1986 for what he described as "purely personal reasons.""PQ chief of staff leaving his post," Globe and Mail, 10 December 1986, A4. Clair later served as leader of the Quebec Association of Nursing Homes from 1987 to 1994; in September 1989, he described as strike by hospital and health-care workers as "unthinkable" in terms of its effects on elderly residents.Robert McKenzie and Nancy Wood, "Cabinet recalled as Quebec braces for massive strike by civil servants," Toronto Star, 6 September 1989, A3; Andre Picard, "Bourassa asks public to help in Quebec strike," Globe and Mail, 16 September 1989, A1.
Clair traveled to Romania with a Montreal television crew in late 1989 to record a series of reports on the status of the country's minority Hungarian community. One of these reports included a clandestine interview with László Tőkés, who was arrested shortly after the broadcast of Dracula's Shadow – The Real Story Behind the Romanian Revolution took place. Tőkés's arrest helped trigger the Romanian Revolution of 1989, and some have suggested that Clair's interview played a significant role in provoking the latter event.Therese Boyle, "Video made by Canadians may have influenced events," Toronto Star, 26 December 1989, A11; "LIBERAL LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE HEADS RALLY FOR PERSECUTED MINISTER IN ROMANIA," Canada NewsWire, 15 November 1989, 10:17. The leadership candidate was Tom Wappel, a Canadian of Hungarian background. Wappel and Clair appeared together at a benefit for Tőkés in Toronto, Ontario.
Clair became president of the venture capital firm Fondel Drummond in 1990.
Deputy minister and Hydro-Quebec administrator The Parti Québécois were returned to office with a majority government under Jacques Parizeau's leadership in the 1994 provincial election. Clair was not a candidate in the election but was appointed as deputy minister of energy and resources on November 28, 1994. By virtue of this position, he also served on the board of Hydro-Quebec."Hydro-Quebec. Re Directorate," Regulatory News Service, 21 February 1995. He resigned as deputy minister on May 5, 1997, to become executive vice-president of Hydro-Quebec's international affairs and projects group as well as president and chief executive officer of Hydro-Quebec International.Kathryn Leger, "Hydro-Quebec readies for foreign push," Financial Post, 16 April 1997, p. 11; "Michel Clair Appointed President And CEO Of Hydro-Quebec International," Canada NewsWire, 15 May 1997, 10:26.