Normand Cherry was a Canadian politician and union leader in the province of Quebec.
23 Facts About Normand Cherry
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Normand Cherry was a Liberal member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998 and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson.
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Normand Cherry worked for Canadair from 1954 to 1989 and became a prominent labour activist, serving as president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 712 from 1969 to 1989.
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Normand Cherry formed a "Canadair Survival Committee" in late 1985, after the government of Canada announced that it was planning to sell the company to a private investor.
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Normand Cherry's group sought to ensure that Canadair would remain publicly owned, stay in Montreal, and protect the jobs of its employees.
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Normand Cherry nonetheless supported Bombardier's successful offer to purchase the company in 1986, saying that the terms of the deal were favourable.
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In September 1986, Normand Cherry argued that a federal contract to maintain CF-18 fighter jets should be given to Canadair rather than to a competing bid led by foreign-owned firms in Manitoba and Ontario.
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Normand Cherry said that it was not his intent to promote Quebec's interests at the expense of other provinces and that his primary concern was to ensure the CF-18 technology would remain under Canadian control.
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Normand Cherry served as chief organizer for the opposition Union Nationale in the 1973 provincial election.
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Normand Cherry ran as a star candidate for the Liberal Party in the 1989 provincial election and was narrowly elected in the Montreal division of Sainte-Anne.
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Normand Cherry was appointed to the Bourassa ministry on October 11,1989, serving as the junior minister responsible for cultural communities.
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In early 1990, Normand Cherry took part in plans to modernize the manufacturing firm Valmet-Dominion Inc and relaunch its corporate office in Montreal.
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Normand Cherry spoke at the opening ceremonies and announced that Quebec would provide $11.1 million in development assistance.
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Normand Cherry was promoted to minister of labour on October 5,1990, while retaining ministerial responsibility for cultural communities.
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In 1993, Normand Cherry took part in negotiations with officials from Ontario and New Brunswick in an effort to resolve long-standing differences in the construction sector.
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Construction workers organized several protests and strikes in a bid to defeat the legislation; the government responded with harsh back-to-work legislation, which Normand Cherry himself described as "probably the most severe legislation ever introduced" on the matter.
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Normand Cherry was expelled from his IAWAW local at around the same time.
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Robert Bourassa announced his resignation as Liberal Party leader and premier in late 1993, and Normand Cherry supported Daniel Johnson's bid to become the party's new leader.
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Normand Cherry sought to co-ordinate better links between Quebec's road, rail, and ship transportation lines.
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The Parti Quebecois defeated the Liberals in this election, and Normand Cherry resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on September 26,1994.
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Normand Cherry served as a member of the official opposition for the next four years and was his party's critic for transport issues.
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An ardent Canadian federalist, Normand Cherry spoke against Quebec separatism in the 1994 election and campaigned for the "non" side in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.
23.
When Daniel Johnson resigned as Liberal Party leader in 1998, Normand Cherry was among the first Liberals to suggest that Jean Charest become his successor.