The “father of health insurance” and former Minister of Health, Claude Castonguay, died in the night from Friday to Saturday, at the age of 91. A prominent figure in Quebec society, he left behind an important legacy across the province.
Posted on December 12, 2020 at 4:11 p.m.
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“He died in his home, in his house, surrounded by his family. We expected it, he had not been well for some time, ”says his brother-in-law Gaspard Fauteux, who is the brother of Marie Castonguay, the wife of the principal concerned. “The family will first let events pass,” adds Fauteux. They need support and love. ”
Claude Castonguay is survived by his wife, but also his three children, Monique, Joanne and Philippe, as well as his five grandchildren.
Director General of the Liberal Party at the time when Mr. Castonguay was Minister, Ronald Poupart remembers a great man. “It’s a sadness. On the public level, he has done enormous work to help society. It was a pioneer in the development of health assistance to Quebeckers, ”recalls Mr. Poupart, offering his most sincere condolences to the family.
We could see that he loved politics, without necessarily having done much. He loved it, not for the parliamentary game, but rather to see how society could evolve.
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Ronald Poupart, former director of the Liberal Party
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President of the Liberals between 1970 and 1973, Lise Bacon welcomes the news with sorrow. “This man has done a lot for Quebeckers with health insurance. Before that, many went into debt to seek treatment, ”she says. “I thought that something was happening not long ago, when he announced that he would no longer write,” adds the first woman Deputy Prime Minister of Quebec.
Regular contributor to the pages of The Press, Claude Castonguay had indeed announced in a last text, at the beginning of November, that he would cease his publications. “My age has caught up with me. I have lost a lot of my energy and my balance is more and more shaky. So much so that I no longer feel able to generate the effort required to write periodicals, ”he explained.
Former chief of staff to Robert Bourassa, John Parisella speaks of “sad news”. “He was a great Quebecer, with a great contribution, and a visionary. He transformed our life. We will all keep an excellent memory of Claude Castonguay, and especially of the recognition. He has been involved all his life, he has always kept an eye open, and has always listened to the major issues in society, ”he underlines.
A long and great career
Born May 8, 1929 in the national capital, Mr. Castonguay studied at the Académie de Québec between 1944 and 1948, before continuing at the Faculty of Sciences of Laval University, from 1948 to 1950. He also studied in the Faculty of Actuarial Sciences, University of Manitoba, between 1950 and 1951.
At the turn of the 1950s, he was a lecturer and then an associate professor at the Actuarial Department of Laval University, in addition to holding a position of associate actuary at Industrial. He was also the co-founder of Castonguay, Lemay et Associés, a company that has since been renamed Sobeco, and was notably president of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 1978.
He was elected in 1970 as the Liberal MP for Louis-Hébert, to then be appointed Minister of Health under the government of Robert Bourassa, between May and December 1970. One of his major projects was the establishment of the Quebec health insurance card, but also from the Pension Plan and the Prescription Drug Insurance Plan. He then held the post of Minister of Social Affairs until 1973.
PHOTO ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Former Minister of Health Claude Castonguay and former President and CEO of the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, Robert Després, in 1970
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In 1966, Mr. Castonguay was commissioned by the government of Daniel Johnson, in the wake of the Quiet Revolution, to chair a broad commission of inquiry into the state of health care and social services.
In his report, Mr. Castonguay recommended the creation of a health insurance policy and the establishment of a network of social service clinics. Today, these have become local community service centers (CLSCs), well known to the general public. More recently, between 2007 and 2008, he also chaired a working group on the financing of the health network.
In addition to these highlights, Claude Castonguay has accumulated political and social commitments. A member of several boards of directors, including the Caisse de dépôt, he was also chancellor of the University of Montreal, then President of the Wilbrod-Bhérer Foundation of the CHUL, to name a few.
From the 1970s to the 2000s, the politician was also awarded several honorary doctorates, among others by Bishop’s University, McGill University and Laval University. In 1991, he was appointed an officer of the National Order of Quebec, then became a Grand Officer in 2014. His book Memories of a quiet revolutionary, published in 2005 by Éditions du Boréal, retraces the milestones of his personal and professional life, in addition to reporting on the major issues he dealt with during his career.
Political reactions
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