77 Facts About Diane Marleau

Diane Marleau represented the riding of Sudbury in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2008, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chretien.

Diane Marleau was married to Paul Marleau, a prominent businessman in Sudbury who ran for mayor of the city in the 2003 municipal election.

Diane Marleau was a childhood friend of Marie-Paule Charette, who later became a Senator and president of the Liberal Party.

Diane Marleau studied Commerce at the University of Ottawa, but left after three years when she married fellow student Paul Marleau, with whom she had three children: Brigitte, Donald and Stephane, and moved to Sudbury.

Diane Marleau worked as the secretary to a medical doctor for five years, prior to the introduction of Medicare.

Diane Marleau returned to Laurentian University as a mature student, and completed a Bachelor's Degree in Economics.

Diane Marleau worked as an accountant, managed an office for a firm of chartered accountants, and operated a restaurant she co-owned with her husband.

Diane Marleau served on the boards of Laurentian University and Laurentian Hospital.

Diane Marleau worked on Judy Erola's campaign in the 1980 federal election, and later credited Erola as a role model for her own career in public life.

Diane Marleau entered politics at the municipal level, serving as a Sudbury alderman and a Regional Municipality of Sudbury councillor from 1980 to 1985.

Diane Marleau chaired the city's Finance Committee, and backed a "pay as you go" debt-elimination plan that prohibited borrowing on capital investments.

Diane Marleau served on the board of governors of Cambrian College, and was a member of the Ontario Advisory Council on Women's Issues.

Diane Marleau ran for Mayor of Sudbury in the 1985 municipal elections, and lost to incumbent Peter Wong.

Diane Marleau was asked to run for the Ontario Liberal Party in the 1987 provincial election, but declined.

Diane Marleau was considered to be on the right-wing of the Liberal Party in this period, although she later identified with a more left-wing position.

Diane Marleau was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1988 federal election.

The Progressive Conservative Party under Brian Mulroney won a majority government in this election, and Diane Marleau served in the Official Opposition as critic for Energy, Mines and Resources.

Diane Marleau supported Jean Chretien's successful bid for the party leadership in 1990, and was appointed to a five-person working group to design the party's tax policy.

Diane Marleau was named deputy Liberal whip in 1991, and became associate finance critic in 1992.

Diane Marleau criticized Bank of Canada governor John Crow during this period, arguing that his high interest rate policy was driving the economy into a recession.

Diane Marleau intervened on more than one occasion to ensure that provincial governments upheld the principles of the Canada Health Act.

Diane Marleau withheld $750,000 in transfer payments to British Columbia in April 1994, after some doctors in that province extra-billed their patients for services.

Diane Marleau defended this decision by arguing that it was inappropriate for taxpayers to subsidize private medicine.

Diane Marleau expressed concern about Ontario's cuts to out-of-country hospital insurance in the same period, though she added that her government could do little to intervene in this particular situation.

Diane Marleau later took action to stop provincial governments from funding semi-private clinics that required patients to pay facility fees.

In 1995, Diane Marleau warned the Alberta government that it would face transfer cuts if it did not shut down its private eye and diagnostic clinics before a federal deadline.

Diane Marleau later indicated that her standoff with Alberta was opposed by some in the Prime Minister's Office, who worried about encroaching on a provincial jurisdiction during the period of the 1995 Quebec referendum.

Diane Marleau argued that the new approach would free the provinces to spend more money on health, and allow them to better carry out the Canada Health Act's provisions.

Diane Marleau personally opposed the strategy but could not prevent its implementation, a fact that undermined her reputation in the health community.

Diane Marleau argued that the Chretien government still favoured high tobacco taxes as a long-term strategy, and would seek to mitigate the cuts with a youth education program on the dangers of tobacco.

In June 1994, committee chair Roger Simmons issued a report indicating that Diane Marleau's proposal was viable, but should be deferred pending research as to whether it would actually reduce smoking levels.

Diane Marleau's plans suffered a setback later in 1995, when the Supreme Court of Canada unexpectedly struck down a law against tobacco advertising that had been passed by the Mulroney government in 1988.

Diane Marleau expressed disappointment at the ruling, but later introduced a blueprint for new legislation that would ban all tobacco advertising and severely restrict tobacco companies from sponsoring arts and cultural events.

Diane Marleau left the Health portfolio before the legislation was introduced, and it was left to her successor David Dingwall to introduce modified legislation in late 1996.

Diane Marleau established a section of Canada's Health department specifically devoted to women's issues, and introduced Canada's first Centre of Excellence focused on Women's Health.

Diane Marleau brought forward a pilot project to better inform women about breast cancer in 1994, and later introduced a program to ensure that low-income pregnant women would have access to proper nutrition and prenatal care.

Diane Marleau received a report on new reproductive technologies shortly after her appointment as Health Minister, and welcomed its primary thesis that conception and child-bearing should not become for-profit industries.

Diane Marleau reiterated this view in late 1994, when speaking about the need for legislation to prevent the sale of human sperm and eggs.

Diane Marleau called for a voluntary moratorium on commercial surrogate motherhood contracts the following year, as a first step toward greater regulation.

Diane Marleau later acknowledged that the voluntary approach was not successful, and indicated that legislation banning the sale of human eggs was forthcoming.

In March 1994, Diane Marleau announced that her government would legalize cannabis for commercial hemp production.

Diane Marleau introduced some programs to alleviate health problems in aboriginal communities during her tenure as Health Minister.

Diane Marleau later acknowledged that she was regarded as a weak minister after failing to stop the tobacco tax cut, but defended her overall performance by saying that she consistently stood up for public health care against powerful opposition.

Diane Marleau was appointed as Minister of Public Works and Minister of Supply and Services on January 25,1996.

Diane Marleau accepted Radwanski's primary findings, and said that Canada Post would withdraw from delivering most store fliers and unaddressed junk mail.

Diane Marleau did not endorse Radwanski's recommendation that Canada Post should concentrate solely on delivering regular mail, and disagreed with his call for the government to sell Purolator Courier.

Shortly before the 1997 federal election, Diane Marleau announced that the federal government would review Canada Post's urban and rural delivery services and appoint an ombudsman to oversee the corporation.

Diane Marleau subsequently testified before a public inquiry that she did not personally oversee the program, and that she had declined on procedural grounds to receive direct reports from sponsorship head Chuck Guite.

Diane Marleau's account was confirmed by others involved in the program, and she was cleared of any wrongdoing by a commission led by Justice John Gomery.

Diane Marleau privatized the Canada Communications Group's printing, warehousing and distribution operations in 1996, but took steps to ensure that jobs, wage levels and benefits would be protected after the sale.

Diane Marleau later warned the Ontario provincial government of Mike Harris against its plans to download social housing to the municipalities, arguing that any such move would require Ottawa's concurrence.

Diane Marleau was re-elected without difficulty in the 1997 federal election, in which the Liberals won a second consecutive majority government.

Diane Marleau later wrote a piece supporting microcredit loans, arguing that they would promote women's rights in under-developed countries.

Diane Marleau announced in late 1997 that she would try to convince her cabinet colleagues not to proceed with a scheduled $150 million cut in international aid.

Diane Marleau argued that the cut was initially planned as part of a deficit-fighting strategy, and said that Canada's improved financial situation made it unnecessary.

The budget cuts were eventually held to $60 million, and Diane Marleau expressed hope that no further reductions would occur in the future.

Diane Marleau introduced several aid programs during her tenure as International Cooperation Minister.

Diane Marleau committed two million dollars to land mine removal in Afghanistan and Cambodia, and announced $23.8 million for infrastructure, water and environmental projects in Bangladesh.

Diane Marleau pledged $500,000 to promoting dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians in June 1998, and promised $100 million over three to four years for Central American rebuilding efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

Diane Marleau committed over fifty million dollars in new money for Kosovar refugees in March 1999.

Diane Marleau gave permission for Canadian organizations to send direct famine relief to North Korea in 1997, during a period of widespread starvation in that country.

Diane Marleau argued that Canada was often able to bring about quiet diplomacy with repressive regimes, after earning their trust through development work.

Diane Marleau became increasingly critical of Jean Chretien's leadership after being sent to the backbenches, and developed a reputation as a party maverick.

Diane Marleau ran to become Speaker of the House of Commons in January 2001, but was eliminated on the first ballot.

In May 2003, Diane Marleau introduced the first-ever Older Adults Justice Act in Canada.

Diane Marleau was re-elected to a fifth term, and was appointed as parliamentary secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board.

Diane Marleau ran for Speaker again at the start of the new parliament, arguing that she would work to restore decorum during Question Period.

Diane Marleau endorsed Bob Rae in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership contest, and moved to the camp of Stephane Dion when Rae was eliminated on the next-to-last ballot.

Diane Marleau later became a prominent supporter of Dion's Green Shift plan within the Liberal Party.

Diane Marleau chaired the House Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates in the 39th parliament, and was elected chair of the Liberal Women's Caucus in March 2008.

Diane Marleau was defeated by New Democratic Party candidate Glenn Thibeault in the 2008 federal election.

Diane Marleau later said that comments made by Sudbury Member of Provincial Parliament Rick Bartolucci shortly before election day played a "crucial" role in her defeat.

Diane Marleau later said that she would probably not seek re-election to the House of Commons.

Diane Marleau was a supporter of the proposed coalition, which dissolved when Stephen Harper prorogued parliament and Michael Ignatieff replaced Dion as Liberal leader.

Diane Marleau was awarded the Bernadine Yackman Award from the Business and Professional Women's Club of Greater Sudbury in March 2009.

Diane Marleau died on January 30,2013, following a battle with colorectal cancer.

Diane Marleau was elected to the Sudbury City Council in 1980 and 1982.