Madeleine Meilleur

Madeleine Meilleur (born November 22, 1948) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2016. She represented the riding of Ottawa—Vanier. She was a cabinet minister in the governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne.

Meilleur was born in the Quebec community of Kiamika. She is both a registered nurse and a lawyer, specializing in labour and employment law. She has served on the Ottawa-Carleton Regional District Health Council, the Champlain District Health Council, the Ottawa-Carleton Children's Aid Society and the Vanier Housing Corporation.

Meilleur was elected to the city of Vanier's municipal council in 1991, and also served as a council member in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (which included members from Vanier and other local municipalities). In 2000, she was acclaimed as a city councillor in the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa. During her time in municipal government, Meilleur represented the council on the French-Language Services Advisory Committee. She received the United Way's Community Builder's Award in 2001.

McGuinty government

In the 2003 provincial election, Meilleur was elected in the riding of Ottawa—Vanier as the Liberal Party candidate.

The Liberal party won the election, and Meilleur was appointed Minister of Culture with responsibility for Francophone Affairs on October 23, 2003. In November 2003, Meilleur announced that provincial grants would be made available to libraries in rural communities. In April 2004, she announced the extension of demolition controls on heritage buildings. In 2008, she became the province's first cabinet minister ever to attend an international summit of La Francophonie.

On April 5, 2006, Meilleur was appointed Minister of Community and Social Services. She was reelected to her Ottawa—Vanier riding in the 2007 provincial election.

After she was re-elected in the 2011 provincial election, she was appointed Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Julie Bilotta

On September 29, 2012, in a story that made international headlines, a 26 year-old woman from Cornwall, Ontario, Julie Bilotta, was forced to give birth to her now-deceased son, Gionni Garlow, in the Ottawa-Carleton Dention Centre, a jail under Ontario jurisdiction. While it is not unusual that a prisoner would given birth while incarcerated, Bilotta alleges that the prison guards and the medical staff ignored her cries for medical assistance. At the time this incident took place, Meilleur was the Ontario Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, making her the minister responsible for the institution in question.

According to the Elizabeth Fry Society, Meilleur has since announced a review into health care in Ontario’s provincial correctional facilities.

Wynne government

When Kathleen Wynne took over as Premier in 2013, Meilleur continued in her position as Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election. On June 24, 2014 she was appointed Attorney General of Ontario, the first francophone to hold the position.

In 2016, she was criticized over her initial refusal and subsequent delay in releasing the Special Investigations Unit's report on the police shooting of Andrew Loku.

On June 9, 2016, Meilleur announced her retirement after 25 years in politics. Her resignation from the legislature coincided with a June 2016 cabinet shuffle.