Quebec premier picks anglo affairs minister

English-speaking advocacy group celebrates secretariat’s part in major cabinet shuffle

MONTREAL— When Philippe Couillard was aspiring to be Quebec Liberal leader, he and Kathleen Weil met with members of the province’s main English-speaking advocacy group to discuss its wish for a secretariat of anglo affairs.

Six years later, the Quebec Community Groups Network has what it wanted.

“From our perspective we have been listened to and this is a reality,” James Shea, the organization’s president, said Wednesday after Couillard named Weil as the secretariat’s first minister as part of a major cabinet shuffle.

Couillard, elected premier in 2014, first announced the creation of the bureau in June. Anglophone community groups have often complained about being taken for granted or ignored by the Quebec government, regardless of the party in power.

Shea said the new office will ensure a dedicated bureaucracy inside the civil service working on behalf of anglophone Quebecers.

For now, Weil is a minister without a full department, as many details of the new secretariat have yet to be created, let alone announced.

“We must put together this secretariat,” she told reporters in Quebec City, recognizing the work ahead of her. “These are historic responsibilities. I am very, very excited about this position.”

Couillard made other cabinet changes ahead of next year’s provincial election, although the main players in finance (Carlos Leitao), health (Gaetan Barrette) and education (Sebastien Proulx) stayed in place.