Gaétan Barrette (born July 5, 1956) is a Canadian politician in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, who was elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

in the 2014 election. He represented the electoral district of La Pinière as a member of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

until retiring from politics at the

2022 Quebec general election The 2022 Quebec general election was held on October 3, 2022, to elect the members of the National Assembly of Quebec. Under the province's Fixed election dates in Canada, fixed election date law, passed in 2013, "the general election following t ...

. Prior to his election to the legislature, he was a

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, located in the boroughs of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. It serves the eastern part of the city and offers 800 beds. It employs 5,000 people ...

. He ran in the 2012 election as a candidate of the

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (, , CAQ) is a Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist, Autonomism in Quebec, autonomist and conservatism, conservative

in Terrebonne, but ran as a Liberal in 2014. He was named Minister of Health and Social Services on April 24, 2014. His tenure as heath minister was considered so controversial that leader

Philippe Couillard Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of H ...

instead tapped Getrude Bourdon, who resigned from her role as the CEO of the Laval University hospital to run as a candidate in the riding of Jean-Lesage if the party won the 2018 election.

Indigenous Health

As Health Minister of Quebec, in 2018 Dr. Barrette opposed the families and physicians who were fighting against Quebec's practise of not allowing Indigenous families to accompany their critically ill children on flight transportation for urgent care. He was recorded making the comment "I guarantee you that there will be at least one instance in the next six months where someone will not be allowed to get on the plane. Why? Because no one — agitated, drugged, under whatever influence — would get on the plane at any cost. That will not happen. And that happens all the time." Indigenous leaders called for his immediate resignation, and did not accept his delayed, eventual apology. The ministry did later change regulations to allow for caregivers or parents to accompany their ill children on urgent medical air transfers, after years of discussions.

Electoral record

* Result compared to Action démocratique

References

External links

National Assembly profile
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Living people Canadian radiologists 1956 births Members of the Executive Council of Quebec People from Brossard People from La Tuque, Quebec Université de Montréal alumni University of San Diego alumni Grenoble Alpes University alumni 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Ministers of health of Quebec {{Liberal-Quebec-MNA-stub