Liza Frulla Explained

Liza Frulla
Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Birth Date:30 March 1949
Birth Place:Montreal, Quebec
Constituency Mp1:Jeanne-Le Ber
Verdun—Saint-Henri—Saint-Paul—Pointe Saint-Charles (2002-2004)
Parliament1:Canadian
Term Start1:May 13, 2002
Term End1:January 23, 2006
Predecessor1:Raymond Lavigne
Successor1:Thierry St-Cyr
Office2:Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Term Start2:September 25, 1989
Term End2:November 30, 1998
Predecessor2:Gilles Fortin
Successor2:Monique Jérôme-Forget
Party:Liberal Party of Canada (national)
Quebec Liberal Party (provincial)
Occupation:broadcaster

Liza Frulla (born March 30, 1949, in Montreal, Quebec), formerly known as Liza Frulla-Hébert, is a former Canadian politician. She was a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998, a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2006, and a member of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Background

All four of Frulla's grandparents were born in Italy and like many Italian Quebeckers, her family was strongly federalist and Quebec Liberal oriented. In college she says she was not politically involved as she voted "yes" in the 1980 referendum, believing it was only fair to give René Lévesque's government a mandate to negotiate, but when the results were strongly "no", she reverted to federalism. She then later worked as a marketer for Labatt Breweries when she regularly met with government officials and eventually joined the Quebec Liberals under Robert Bourassa.[1]

Early career

From 1974 to 1976, Frulla worked for the public affairs service of the organizing committee for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She subsequently became the first woman reporter accredited to cover professional sport in the electronic media.

Provincial politics

From 1989 to 1998, she represented the riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys in the National Assembly of Quebec. She was Minister of Communications and Minister of Cultural Affairs. She was vice-chair of the "No" committee in the 1995 Quebec referendum. However, on November 1, 2007, while appearing on the RDI program Le Club des Ex, she admitted to having voted for the "Yes" side in the 1980 referendum.

In 1998, she left the National Assembly to host her own show, Liza, on public broadcaster Radio-Canada until 2002.

Federal politics

She was elected to Parliament in a 2002 by-election in the now-defunct riding of Verdun—Saint-Henri—Saint-Paul—Pointe-Saint-Charles. After that riding was merged with portions of neighbouring ridings to form Jeanne-Le Ber, she was re-elected by a razor-thin margin over Thierry St-Cyr in 2004; she subsequently lost to him in 2006.

Frulla has the prenominal "the Honourable" and the postnominal "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on December 12, 2003.[2] She was the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for the Status of Women in the cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin and previously served as Minister of Social Development.

Honours

In 2016, she was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.[3] In 2017, she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Audio.
  2. Web site: Information Resources . www.pco-bcp.gc.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20010830014413/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E&Page=InformationResources&Sub=PrivyCouncilMembers . 2001-08-30.
  3. Web site: National Order of Quebec citation. fr.
  4. Web site: Governor General Announces 99 New Appointments to the Order of Canada. The Governor General of Canada. 23 September 2017. en.