Serge Marcil (January 20, 1944 – January 12, 2010) was an educator, administrator and politician in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. After studying to be a teacher in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Marcil obtained work at various secondary schools as an administrator. He also served on his local city council in the early 1980s before entering the Quebec National Assembly as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

(MNA) in the 1985 Quebec provincial election in the riding of Beauharnois. He was re-elected in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, and became parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour in the Bourassa government. In 1994, he joined the

provincial cabinet Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

of Daniel Johnson as Minister of Employment, but both he and the Liberal government were defeated in the 1994 provincial election. Marcil entered federal politics by defeating '' Bloc Québécois'' (BQ)

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) Daniel Turp in the riding of

Beauharnois—Salaberry Beauharnois—Salaberry is a former federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 2015. Geography In 2003, the riding was re-defined to consist of the regional county municip ...

in the 2000 federal election. The

MP became parliamentary secretary to the

Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mi ...

in 2002. When

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

succeeded Jean Chrétien as

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

in 2003, he appointed Marcil to the position of parliamentary secretary to the

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

with special emphasis on parks. He was also appointed to the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

when Martin decided that parliamentary secretaries should be members of that body. Marcil ran for re-election in the 2004 general election but was defeated by Alain Boire of the BQ. Marcil was killed in the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 (8 days shy of his 66th birthday). He had just arrived in Port-au-Prince on a business trip for his current employer, the Montreal engineering firm Groupe SM International. On January 23, his wife confirmed that Marcil's body had been found in the rubble of the

Hôtel Montana The Hôtel Montana is a four star luxury hotel in Haiti. It is located on Rue Frank Cardozo, Bourdon on one of the only three main roads connecting the capital to its southeastern outskirt city Pétion-Ville. It was one of the most luxurious hot ...

. He had died instantly, on the fifth floor of the hotel. Marcil's funeral was held on January 29 at

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry. The population as of 2019 was 42,410. Situated on Grande-Île, an island in the Saint Lawrence River, it is bordere ...

.Toronto Sun
"Former MP killed in Haiti mourned"
Charles Paquette, 30 January 2010 (accessed 31 January 2010)

Electoral record (partial)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcil, Serge 1944 births 2010 deaths Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Université de Montréal alumni People from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake 21st-century Canadian politicians