Whether as teacher, researcher, member of Parliament, minister, dean or professor, Monique Bégin has shown an unmistakably clear vision as she pursued her mission of improving the condition and the lives of her fellow Canadians.
As executive secretary of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada, she published a report in 1970, which served as a reference for many years. In 1972, she became the first woman from Quebec elected to the House of Commons. As minister of national health and welfare from 1977 to 1984, Bégin helped renew the foundations of Canada's health care system.
The University of Ottawa has greatly benefited from Bégin's major contribution to the academic world. The first holder of the joint Ottawa-Carleton Chair of Women's Studies in 1986, she supported advanced research in that field that is still relevant today. As dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences from 1990 to 1997, she instilled a vision that went beyond the traditional realm of biomedical science. Today, as a visiting professor in the master in health administration program, she enriches students' lives through her teaching and her guidance.