Dr François Blais

Dr François Blais has been appointed minister of the Quebec Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. Blais comes to the ministry during a period of uncertainty over provincial funding of science, research and innovation. He replaces Yves Bolduc who quit politics February 26th following controversial comments on the appropriateness of strip searching high school students suspected of illegal behaviour. Prior to taking up his new duties, Blais was the province's Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, which has been filled by Sam Hamad. Prior to entering politics in 2014, Blais was a professor and dean of Laval Univ's Faculty of Social Sciences. Blais holds a BA in social work from Laval and a PhD in philosophy (ethics, philosophy of law and political philosophy) from the Univ of Montreal at Quebec. Following postdoctoral work, he became a political science professor teaching at several universities in areas including the history of political ideas, income security policy changes and economic and social ethics….