Lise Thibault

Last updated

French pronunciation: [liztibo] ; born 2 April 1939) is a Canadian politician who served as the 27thLieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1997 to 2007. She later spent six months in jail for misuse of public funds, which she was ordered to repay the government. As of 2024, she is the only Canadian vice-regal representative to have been incarcerated.

Contents

Early life

Born in Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, she was the eldest daughter of Paul Trudel and Laurenza Wolfe. She was educated at the Académie Marie-Anne de Montréal, and then went on to teachers' college at Cégep de Saint-Jérôme. She married René Thibault in 1959. [1] Thibault was permanently disabled in a tobogganing accident as a teenager, and uses a wheelchair. [2] [3]

Career

Thibault taught with the adult education department of the Milles-Îles and Des Écores school boards from 1973 to 1978. She worked for Télé-Métropole from 1977 to 1981. From 1982 to 1984 she was a host and researcher at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as for programs about family and community issues. She was the vice president for Quebec's Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) from 1987 to 1993. She was president and CEO of the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec from 1993 to 1995. [1]

She was closely associated with the federal Liberal Party for many years, and on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, the Governor General appointed her Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, following the resignation of Jean-Louis Roux in 1997. She became Quebec's first female viceroy, and the first disabled lieutenant governor in Canada. In February 2005 Thibault had a stroke. [4] She was one of the longest serving lieutenant governors in Canadian history, serving for over ten years.

Trial and imprisonment for fraud

Beginning in 2007, Thibault was accused of spending beyond the limits of her expense account. [5] Questions on her spending continued after her departure, with federal and provincial auditors general pointing to $700,000 in unjustified expenses. [6] Among the expenses were: [7]

The files were turned over to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for investigation. She was criminally charged for offences involving fraud, breach of trust, forgery and fabrication of false documents related to the misspending of public funds during her ten years in office. [8] Thibault's lawyer argued unsuccessfully in Quebec Superior Court that Thibault should receive sovereign immunity, because "the Crown's prosecution cannot prosecute the Crown"—referring to her prior office as the Queen's representative in Quebec. [9]

In September 2015 she was sentenced 18 months in jail and was ordered to repay the government $300,000 ($200,000 to Ottawa and $100,000 to Québec) after pleading guilty to fraud and breach of trust in 2014. [10] Judge Carol St-Cyr outlined her crimes, pointing out that she "took advantage of holes in the system and abused her position of authority to pay for trips, golf lessons and birthday parties... [and] forgot that her role as lieutenant-governor was to be a good example for Quebecers." [11]

On 24 February 2016, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld Thibault's 18-month sentence, [12] and the next day Thibault surrendered at the Quebec City Detention Centre. [13] [14] [15] She was transferred in late February 2016 to the Leclerc Detention Centre in Laval, Quebec. [16] [17] She was granted a conditional release on 2 June 2016, and was fully discharged on 17 August 2017. In the meantime, she filed for bankruptcy in June of that year, citing of debt of $1.5 million to Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec (the initial $300,000 she was ordered to pay had already been reimbursed). [18]

Honours

As a former viceregal representative of Elizabeth II, as Queen in Right of Quebec, Thibault is styled The Honourable for life. [19] [20] [21]

Thibault has received 3 honorary degrees:

The Honourable
Lise Thibault
Lise Thibault (cropped).jpg
Thibault in 2006
27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
In office
30 January 1997 –7 June 2007
Province/StateDateSchoolDegree
Flag of Quebec.svg QuebecNovember 1999 Concordia University Doctor of Laws (LL.D) [22]
Flag of Quebec.svg Quebec2 June 2001 Bishop's University Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) [23]
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts2003 Anna Maria College Doctor of Laws (LL.D)

Arms

Coat of arms of Lise Thibault
Lise Thibault Arms.svg
Notes
The arms of Lise Thibault consist of: [24]
Crest
Upon a helmet mantled Azure doubled Argent within a wreath of these colours upon a grassy mound Vert an oak tree Argent fructed Azure.
Escutcheon
Azure between two quills in chief and a treble clef in base a swallow volant Argent holding in the beak a Blue Flag Or.
Supporters
Two does Azure and Argent gorged with maple leaves Or pendant therefrom a bezant the dexter one charged with two ears of wheat the sinister one with two sprigs of flax one bearing two flowers the other four all Azure.
Compartment
A grassy mound Vert bearing lilies between two maple leaves Or.
Motto
Créer La Vie

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Sauvé</span> 23rd Governor General of Canada

Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the first and to date only female Speaker of the House (1980–1984) and as the first female Governor General of Canada (1984–1990).

Myriam Bédard, is a Canadian retired biathlete. She represented Canada at two Winter Olympics winning gold medals, and a bronze medal. As of 2022, Bédard is the only Canadian biathlete, male or female, ever to win an Olympic medal, and the only North American biathlete ever to win Olympic gold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 in Canada</span> List of Canadian events in 1998

Events from the year 1998 in Canada.

Events from the year 2002 in Canada.

Jean-Louis Roux was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lieutenant Governor of Quebec</span> Representative in Quebec of the Canadian monarch

The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; is the representative in Quebec of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealth realms and any subdivisions thereof, and resides predominantly in his oldest realm, the United Kingdom. The lieutenant governor of Quebec is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties. The present and 30th lieutenant governor of Quebec is Manon Jeannotte, who has served in the role since January 25, 2024.

Events from the year 2005 in Canada. This year was recognized, by Veterans Affairs Canada, as the Year of the Veteran.

Mac Harb is a former Canadian politician, who served successively in local Ottawa positions, as a Member of the House of Commons, and as a Senator for Ontario. He resigned his seat as Senator in 2013 amidst the Canadian Senate expenses scandal.

Raymond Lavigne is a former Canadian senator and businessman, and a former Member of Parliament (MP).

Appointees to the Order of Canada can have their membership revoked if the order's advisory council determines a member's actions have brought dishonour to the order. Eight people have been removed from the Order of Canada: Alan Eagleson, David Ahenakew, T. Sher Singh, Steve Fonyo, Garth Drabinsky, Conrad Black, Ranjit Chandra, and Johnny Issaluk. Eagleson was removed from the order after being jailed for fraud in 1998; Ahenakew was removed in 2005, after being convicted of promoting anti-Semitic hatred in 2002; Singh was removed after the revocation of his law licence for professional misconduct; Fonyo was removed due to numerous criminal convictions; Drabinsky was removed in 2012 after being found guilty of fraud and forgery in Ontario; Black was removed in 2014 after being convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in the United States; Chandra was removed in 2015 for committing research fraud; Issaluk was removed in 2022 following sexual misconduct allegations. The formal removal process is performed by the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, though it can be initiated by any citizen of Canada.

Events from the year 2007 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Duchesne</span> Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

Pierre Duchesne is a Canadian public servant who was the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec and former secretary general of the National Assembly of Quebec. As lieutenant governor he was the viceregal representative of Queen Elizabeth II of Canada in the Province of Quebec. His appointment was made by Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean, on the Constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, and announced on May 18, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Foote</span> Canadian politician

Judy May Foote is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to hold the position.

Patrick Brazeau is a Canadian senator from Quebec. At the age of 34, he was and is the youngest member of the Senate during his appointment. From February 2006 until January 2009 he held the position of national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. Brazeau was expelled from the Conservative caucus following his February 7, 2013 arrest for domestic assault and sexual assault. On September 15, 2015, Brazeau pleaded guilty to simple assault and cocaine possession as part of a plea deal in which other assault charges were dropped, and he was acquitted of sexual assault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Thúy</span> Vietnamese-born Canadian novelist

Kim Thúy Ly Thanh, CQ is a Vietnamese-born Canadian writer, whose debut novel Ru won the Governor General's Award for French-language fiction at the 2010 Governor General's Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Moore (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Christine Moore is a Canadian politician and nurse who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Abitibi—Témiscamingue from 2011 to 2019. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), she was first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election, defeating Bloc Québécois MP Marc Lemay, who had held the riding since 2004. She was re-elected during the 2015 federal election. She did not run for re-election in the 2019 federal election. Despite her Anglophone-sounding name, Moore is a Francophone.

Events from the year 2012 in Canada.

The Canadian Senate expenses scandal, also known as Duffygate, was a political scandal concerning the expense claims of certain Canadian senators which began in late 2012. Senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy, Mac Harb, and Pamela Wallin claimed travel and living allowance expenses from the Senate for which they were not eligible. Deloitte LLP was retained to provide the Senate with an independent examination of the expense claims. Duffy, Harb, and Wallin repaid ineligible amounts. Harb retired a few months into the scandal, and in November 2013, Brazeau, Duffy, and Wallin were suspended from the Senate without pay. Brazeau, Duffy, and Harb were criminally charged. On April 21, 2016, Duffy was acquitted on all charges. Charges against Harb were withdrawn and no charges were to be laid against Wallin. The scandal attracted much public attention, with as many as 73% of Canadians following it closely. Many said that the scandal impacted the 2015 Canadian general election.

Events from the year 2014 in Canada.

Events from the year 2015 in Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lise Thibault". The Great Names of the French Canadian Community. 2000. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "Lise Thibault, ex-Quebec lieutenant-governor, testifies at her fraud trial". CBC News. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Archived - Celebrating Women's Achievements". Collections Canada. Government of Canada. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Editorial: Former lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault 'highly reprehensible' behaviour justly punished". Montreal Gazette. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Racine, Jean-François (30 September 2015). "Huit dates importantes de la saga Lise Thibault". Journal de Québec. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Auditors challenge $700,000 in spending by Quebec's former Lt.-Gov". CBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Thibault defends expenses". Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  8. ↑ The Globe and Mail "Former Quebec lieutenant-governor facing charges"
  9. ↑ Canadian Press. "The court is not amused: Canadian judge rejects royal privilege argument." The Vancouver Sun, 27 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Lise Thibault, ex-Quebec lieutenant-governor, pleads guilty to 6 charges". CBC News. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Lise Thibault ordered to repay $300K, serve 18 months". CBC. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Lise Thibault's 18-month sentence challenge rejected by Quebec Court of Appeal". CBC News. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Former Lt-Gov Thibault now in jail". CTV News. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ex-lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault begins prison sentence in Quebec City". The Globe and Mail. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Former Quebec lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault behind bars". The Toronto Star. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  16. ↑ Racine, Jean-François (3 March 2016). "Lise Thibault a quitté Québec". Le Journal de Québec. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "À sa demande, Lise Thibault change de prison". TVA Nouvelles. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Lise Thibault déclare faillite". Le Journal de Québec (in French). 17 June 2017.
  19. ↑ "Titles". Canadian Heritage. Government of Canada. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Table of Titles to be used in Canada". Government of Canada. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  21. ↑ Hicks, Ryan. "Lise Thibault should be stripped of pension, title: Democracy Watch". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "Honorary Degree Recipients (scroll to November 1999)". Concordia University. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ↑ Canadian Heraldic Authority (Volume III), Ottawa, 1999
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.