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Whip of the Bloc Québécois Member of the Board of Internal Economy

Claude DeBellefeuille

  • Member of Parliament
  • Whip of the Bloc Québécois Member of the Board of Internal Economy
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Salaberry—Suroît
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $109,425.78

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 230 - Oct/5/23
Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Salaberry—Suroît, BQ)
  • Oct/5/23 3:39:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I admit that I was saddened to learn of the departure of Michel Patrice, the deputy clerk of administration, because he is so amazing. Life is short. All kinds of professional and personal adventures come our way and lead us to make decisions. To leave at the height of a career, however, is a big decision. Michel Patrice has had a very long career in both the Senate and the House of Commons. My colleagues in the House have demonstrated this and described his many accomplishments, and I will not repeat them here. It would take a 20-minute speech at least. I want to focus on something very specific. Michel has had a remarkable career. Since 2017—and I believe he is quite proud of this achievement—he has overseen the largest organizational change in the parliamentary life of our MPs. This change has had a very concrete and major impact on our teams and on the members as a whole. He decided to put all of his skills and qualities to use in leading this organizational change because he truly believes that members of Parliament deserve the utmost respect. Members of Parliament, parliamentarians and their teams are at the heart of his professional commitment. That is why, over the past five years, he has wholeheartedly invested a great deal of time and energy. He has mobilized his teams. He has inspired his teams to think, excel, create, innovate, all with the aim of offering the best support to MPs and their teams. It takes an exceptional leader to inspire a great team, one of the greatest teams in Parliament, a team oriented towards the same goal: supporting MPs in their work, in their parliamentary duties so that they feel good, supporting them with a strong administration, and supporting their teams. We know that good MPs are good MPs because they are well supported. People who are hard-working, highly trained and well supported perform well. Michel Patrice deserves credit for his tenacity, sometimes against all odds. Changes of this magnitude do not come without challenges; it is not easy. He is tenacious and persistent, and he succeeded. For the past few years, MPs have benefited from an administration with a clearer understanding that constant support tailored to their needs strengthens Parliament as an institution because its members feel better supported. It is a very personalized approach. That is one of Michel's qualities. He listens, he observes, he is one of the first to grasp what is going on and he comes up with solutions and ways of doing things that make our work easier. We all know his list of achievements is long. He and his teams were crucial to setting up the hybrid Parliament. A good leader always has good people helping him. He surrounded himself with the best. He played a very important role in setting up the hybrid Parliament. He made sure it worked during a time that was not easy for anyone. I have a brief anecdote to share. It is always nice to spice up our speeches a bit. I have been on the Board of Internal Economy since I became whip in 2019. I worked with the deputy clerk of administration a number of times to prepare for our meetings at the Board of Internal Economy. Perhaps better than most, he understood my desire, my insistence and the importance I placed on members having access to robust and competent interpretation services in both languages. He also understood my tenacity and my insistence on having this service at every meeting of the Board of Internal Economy. With a smile on his face and his legendary listening skills, he supported me in my efforts to shed light on the situation with the interpreters. I would therefore like to thank him for his infinite patience, and especially for listening to and supporting us. As I said, Michel Patrice is an exceptional leader, an exceptional senior public servant, and I would even go so far as to say an exceptional person. It is extremely rare to find a senior manager who has so many professional skills but who is still down-to-earth, compassionate, approachable and, most of all, a good listener. One of his greatest strengths is that he focuses on finding solutions. I never saw Mr. Patrice get flustered by a problem, because to him, there is no such thing as a problem. To him, there are only solutions that are tailored to the needs that are expressed. To Michel, there are no problems, only solutions. The best gift we can give him is to carry on and build his legacy. It is a legacy that is greatly appreciated by MPs and their teams. I feel truly privileged to have crossed paths with him. He is a good person, a generous person, who has devoted his entire career to the public service. Honestly, I have no doubt that life will be good to him. I wish Michel the best for what comes next, and I thank him again for everything.
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