25 Facts About Pierre Reid

Pierre Reid was a Canadian politician and educator in the province of Quebec.

Pierre Reid served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 2003 to 2018, representing Orford as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Pierre Reid is not to be confused with a senior public servant in Quebec named Pierre Reid.

Pierre Reid held a Bachelor of Science degree from Universite Laval and a Ph.

Pierre Reid became a vice-rector of the university in 1989, and four years later he defeated Marie Malavoy to become university rector.

Pierre Reid supported the Universite de Sherbrooke's links to Gaz Metropolitain, which provided a $105,000 scholarship for research in the natural gas sector.

Pierre Reid speculated about privatizing some academic programs in 1996, to find new revenue sources in light of government cutbacks.

Pierre Reid was appointed an associate deputy minister at Industry Canada in 2001.

Pierre Reid was a star candidate for the Liberal Party in the 2003 provincial election and was easily elected as the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Orford.

Pierre Reid made significant changes to university student funding in 2004, shifting $103 million from bursaries to repayable loans.

Pierre Reid announced that student loans would become easier to obtain and that repayments would be proportional to income after graduation; in some cases, graduates would not be required to make payments during periods of unemployment.

Pierre Reid argued in response that his changes would allow more students to register at universities.

Pierre Reid promised to re-invest "massive" funding into loans and bursaries after a revolt of the Liberal Party's youth wing in late 2004, but did not remain in the education portfolio long enough to carry this out.

Pierre Reid promised in November 2004 that he would maintain Quebec's long-standing university tuition freeze during the Charest government's first mandate, but would not make any commitments beyond that time.

In December 2004, Pierre Reid announced a new association between Quebec's public schools and Jewish private schools in a bid to improve cultural ties.

The funding decision was made without cabinet approval or discussion; when it became public knowledge, Pierre Reid indicated that other private religious and cultural schools would be eligible for such funding.

In May 2003, Pierre Reid announced that francophone schools would start English lessons in the first grade and devote more class time to English-language education.

Pierre Reid announced in 2004 that persons with serious criminal records would not receive provincial teaching certificates.

Pierre Reid dropped plans to introduce a professional teaching order after teachers voted in large numbers against the plan.

Pierre Reid was critical of the Canadian Council on Learning introduced by Jean Chretien's federal government, saying that its money would be better spent on provincial initiatives.

Widely regarded as having mishandled the university funding and Jewish private school files, Pierre Reid was demoted to government services minister after a cabinet shuffle on February 18,2005.

Pierre Reid supported the Charest government's plan to sell part of the Mont-Orford National Park to private interests in 2006, despite the concerns of environmental groups and some Liberal backbenchers.

Critics noted that Pierre Reid was the friend of a key developer who stood to benefit from the sale, although Pierre Reid responded that his friend was only one of many potential buyers.

Pierre Reid was narrowly re-elected in the 2007 provincial election, which reduced the Liberals to a minority government.

Pierre Reid was returned to a third term in the 2008 election, as the Liberals regained majority status.