Jean-Marc Fournier

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Jean-Marc Fournier (born October 7, 1959 in Châteauguay) is a lawyer and the Minister of Education, Leisure and Sports for Quebec, Canada. He holds a law degree from the Université de Montréal and is a Member of the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP). He is the current member of the Quebec National Assembly for Châteauguay and has been since he was first elected in 1994. He was subsequently re-elected in 1998, 2003 and 2007.

Before the QLP took power in the 2003 election, Fournier at various moments served as the chief whip of the official opposition, critic for Canadian intergovernmental affairs, as well as critic for health.

Fournier was the defeated candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada in Châteauguay in 1988.

[edit] Background Information / Recent Events

The Quebec government of premier Jean Charest cut over $103 million from the student loans and bursaries program in 2004. This proved controversial and in March 2005, over a hundred thousand CEGEP and university students went on strike in Quebec, pushing for the reinstatement of the funding. The government and students reached an agreement, in which the government agreed to restore most of this funding. See 2005 Quebec student strike.

In 2005, the Charest government had low approval ratings in the polls, although this situation predates the recent student strikes. Polling in the fall of 2006 indicates a modest improvement in the government's approval rating.