Our Young Authors Contest winner for this issue is Amber Diodati, a grade eight student at Laval Junior Academy. Amber had the opportunity to sit down with Minister Francine Charbonneau, for a one-on-one interview.

Q; If you had to write a book about your career in politics, what would be the title?
A; The title might surprise you. It would be called "A Turn for the Surprise", because I wasn’t aiming, expecting, nor was I going for this. The surprise was the turn of my life.

Q; After all these years that you've been a public figure in the Laval community, what would you want us to know about you that we don't already know?
A; Most people don’t really know why every Sunday afternoon, I say no to any plan making. Sunday afternoons are reserved for family time.

Q; Politicians sometimes need to make decisions that are not always popular with the community. What’s the toughest decision you needed to make?
A; The toughest decisions I make are always about budgeting. If we could put more money in one place I would always do it, but every time you make a decision to put more money in one place, money will be removed from another place. Budgeting is always the toughest because you know even though you’re making a good decision, you'll be removing money from somewhere else and not be giving it enough. Every cause is worth giving money to.

Q; Working with seniors is a major focus for you. Why?
A; Well, we need to make sure growing old is something good and making sure it’s the best for the elderly as citizens. Being a grandmother, I want to make sure growing old in Quebec is the best place to grow old. Let's take City of Laval that’s making sure that seniors have services, that the government is giving services within the hospitals and health care. We need to remember not only do we have young volunteers but we also have many elderly people who do a lot of the volunteer work. Making sure that the elderly are active and healthy is making sure we have the best city in the world.

Q; Which steps are you taking to make sure seniors get the respect they deserve and the help they need in the retirement homes?
A; We need to work all together. We need to make sure people know what to do and how to act. If were talking about abuse of elderly, some think that abuse is only physical. There are many things people do that they don’t know is a type of abuse. For example, when an elderly person crosses the street, sometimes people think they don’t walk fast enough and will honk. This is form of abuse. We need to make sure they understand that they need to be patient and careful with the elderly. Taking care of the elderly is important, but making sure others respect the elderly is more important.

Q; Considering that you are the Minister responsible for anti-bullying, why is awareness for anti-bullying important to you?
A; I think that there is no age for bullying, but the consequences are catastrophic. In schools, there are gestures that are not acceptable, but we can see bullying in work places, streets, sports and in the retirement homes. It’s very important to make sure people are aware of what they do and how they do it because no one has the same limits and the consequences of the gesture is very important.

Q; What concerns you the most about bullying in schools? Being the Minister responsible for anti-bullying, how can you make a difference?
A; We do different things, such as advertisements to make sure people understand what bullying is and we made sure people were aware there are three types of people involved in bullying; the victim, the bully and the bystander. We’re showing people that as a bystander you should go get help and help the person who's getting bullied, whether it’s by going to the school principal or helping the victim reach out to someone to talk about the bullying.

Q; What inspired you to become a politician?
A; I was a parent with three children in school who I wanted to make sure had the best, and joined the school committees. I had other parents telling me I should be part of the school board, so I decided to join. When the president of the school board left I became the Chairperson. I was happy fighting for all the children in the Commission Scolaire de Laval and making sure the students got the help they needed. One day, someone suggested I become a MNA and in 2008, I said yes.

Q; Would you consider eventually running for Prime Minister of Quebec?
A; I would have to say no, I wouldn’t be able to be a prime minister. First of all, I don’t think I qualify, and the piece of life that I have that’s left is what I need. The Prime Minister has just about no life at all; he has to dedicate 24 hours a day of what he does to the citizens of Quebec. Now that I have more responsibility, I take them and follow them through, but I wouldn’t raise my hand to be a prime minster.

Q; Do you believe social media can make a difference in electoral campaigns for better or worse?
A; I think that social media is something very nice and very bad. If people don’t like you and decide to destroy your reputation, or post bad pictures of you, it could be the worst thing that can happen to you. As adults, we’re not different from teenagers; when we see something bad on social media it stays in our heads. If using social media, you need to make sure it doesn’t contaminate you and be very strong. Being in a campaign only using social media wouldn’t be a good idea considering you see bullying and also see fake news.

Q; Which international figure inspires you the most?
A; You would be very surprised to know that I'm a very big fan of Oprah Winfrey. I think that she represents someone that comes from a life of misery in the beginning and believed in herself to become a better person. To this day, when she wakes up in the morning, she asks herself if she can be a better person and for me, that’s inspirational.

Q; What is your advice to someone going into politics after university?
A; Honestly, I would tell them to go to work and not to go into politics right away. You need to know how it is to have a job and how life is on the day-to-day basis. If you go straight to politics, how can you know how it works on the day-to-day basis? You might have an idea, you see people going to work but how would you be able to put yourself in their skin without knowing the day-to- day basics of working?

Q; Reading your biography I noticed you have a background in hairdressing. What made you make such a drastic change in your career?
A; I wanted a work place where I would use my time moving and meeting people. Being a hairdresser is the best place, you get to talk to people, make them feel good and give advice. After a year of practicing I got an allergic reaction on my hands from the products, and doctors told me I needed to change jobs or start working with my feet! [laughs]

Q; In your career as a politician, which memorable moment will you cherish forever?
A; That’s hard to say because I've met and helped people that are extraordinary and it’s hard to point out which is more memorable. As a Minister, I get to celebrate elderly people who volunteer in their communities. I find one person from every region of Quebec and read what they’ve done during the year to help the communities and they receive a trophy for what they've done. There was never one year that there were any dry eyes in that room because everyone's so touched by the acts of the volunteers.