(Montreal) The former CAQ candidate in Sherbrooke, Caroline St-Hilaire, was appointed administrator of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) after the extraordinary Permanent Council of La Francophonie (CPF) on Tuesday.
The OIF confirmed on its website the appointment of Ms. St-Hilaire by the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo. She will occupy the second most important position within the organization and will carry out her duties in Paris.
“My gratitude to the Secretary General of the OIF, Ms. Mushikiwabo, for the confidence she has shown in me. Ready to dedicate myself to our organization which brings together 88 states and [governments] in order to build a flourishing future for La Francophonie! “said the former CAQ candidate in a tweet.
The candidacy of Caroline St-Hilaire had been proposed by the Legault government a few weeks ago, a suggestion strongly criticized by the opposition parties.
The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) had accused the CAQ of “patronage” by trying to grant a prestigious position to its candidate, defeated in the riding of Sherbrooke by the solidarity Christine Labrie in the last general election.
Note that in January, the CAQ leader had also considered appointing his candidate to a “tailor-made” post of Quebec delegate in Barcelona, ”a partisan appointment”, according to the Liberals and the Solidarity.
The post of administrator of the OIF has remained vacant since the unexpected departure of Geoffroi Montpetit on March 10. The Quebecer had been in office for about a year, but his contract was not renewed.
Caroline St-Hilaire was a member of the Parliament of Canada for four terms, from 1997 to 2008, where she was responsible for files on the status of women, transportation, human rights and sport. She was also the first woman to become mayor of Longueuil, from 2009 to 2017.