Hélène Alarie, the first woman agronomist in Quebec, died Thursday evening from cancer. Recognized as a pioneer in her community, she became known to the general public as a member of the Bloc Québécois from 1997 to 2000, and vice-president of the party from 2001 to 2009.
Born in La Pocatière in 1941, she represented the riding of Louis-Hébert, in the suburbs of Quebec. It was also in Quebec, at Laval University, that she completed her bachelor’s degree. “When she began her studies in economics, she was the only woman out of 200 students,” reported agronomist Yvon Therien, in the Bulletin des agricole du Québec.
“She had a remarkable career, first as an agronomist, and then as a civil servant and politician,” says the political columnist of DutyMichel David, who was a close friend.
In the Bloc Québécois, Hélène Alarie was spokesperson for Agriculture and Agri-Food from 1998 to 2000, then for Science, Research and Development from 1998 to 1999.
Michel David remembers his “exceptional joie de vivre”. “I have never seen her angry, except to defend her political beliefs. She also had a lot of audacity, as when she criticized the “Montréalocentrism” of the Bloc Québécois, when she was an MP. But everyone, even his critics, appreciated his good humor. »
Hélène Alarie also sponsored a bill to require mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and served as a civil servant in the Quebec Ministry of Education, among others.
She died Thursday evening at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Lévis. She is survived by her husband, Robert McKenzie, a former journalist at Toronto Star.