Sylvie Roy: Quebec's tenacious, mercurial conservative

On April 7, 2009, CoalitionAvenir Qubec MNASylvieRoystood up askPremier Jean Charest a question.

"I would like, today, to communicate our worries, as well as those of all Quebecers, vis--vistheproblems in the construction industry,"Roy said.

"I am appealing to the premier's leadership to shed light on these serious issues. I am demanding that a commission of inquiry be held."

It took almost three years during which timeRoy hounded the government almost dailybut Charest eventually relented. In October of 2011 he announced the province would hold a public inquiry.

That inquiry, which came to be known as the Charbonneaucommission, exposed widespread corruption in Quebec's construction industryand raised questions about political financing in the province.

Roy died suddenlyon Sunday of acute hepatitis. She was 51.

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No compromise on integrity

"Jean Charestwas fed up fromhearing her, day after day, demand a commission of inquiry. And in the end she was right," saidFranois Legault, Roy's party leader at the time.

"For her, there was no compromising on integrity."

Few outside a close-knit circle of family and friends knewthat Roy had spent the past several weeks in a Quebec Cityhospital. Quebec's political class was shocked by the news of her death.

They remembered Roy as a fiercely tenacious MNA, someone who was unwilling to drop an issue until she got what she wanted.

"I had 20 MNAs,and she was probably the one who came to my office the most often," said Legault. "She had an opinion about everything a real fighter."

That tenacity may have been the cause of her break from Legault and the CAQ. She left the party to sit as an independent in 2015, complaining that Legault didn't appreciate her political skills.

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'Human drama'

Or so went the polite version of events. To say thesplit was acrimonious would be an understatement.

She accusedthe party of threatening to tarnish her reputation: "When you went to kill your dog, you say it has rabies."

Legault replied that he believed she was "suffering"and undergoing a "human drama."

A member of Legault's inner circle posted an allegation on social media that Roy was an alcoholic, only to delete the message shortly thereafter.

"Ask anyone on the Hill: at our parties, the cinq--septs, meetings with party members, Christmas suppers, end-of-session suppers, caucussuppers, I never haveany alcohol," Roy said atan August 2015 news conference.

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Small-town mayor to provincial MNA

Born in 1964, Roy spent the first part of her career working as a lawyerbefore becoming mayor, in 1999, ofSainte-Sophie-de-Lvrard, a small town 60 kilometres northeast of Trois-Rivires.

In 2003, she approached theActiondmocratiqueduQubec the CAQ's forerunner about making the jump toprovincial politics. ADQ Leader Mario Dumont was impressed by her CV.

She ended up being one of the lone bright spots for the party in what was otherwise a dismal election.

"It wasn't a riding where we had the best chance, but by the last week of the campaign I became convinced she was going to win," Dumont, now a political pundit, said Monday.

"She was never beaten. She was elected there five times in a row."

After Dumont stepped down following another dismal election showing, Roy served as the party's interim leader for several months in 2009.

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She stood out as a conservative in a province that often thinks of itself as progressive.

Roy was one of only a few MNAs to come out publicly against the provincial gun registry. And for years she advocated a stiff law-and-order agenda as her party'sjustice and public security critic.

"Quebec will remember that she was the first to ask for a commission of inquiry in the construction industry," said Dumont.

"But more generally, the public will remember that she was the archetype of what we want in an MNA. She was determined, didn't give up easily. She took care of her riding but also took on the big issues."

Roy leaves twochildren, Michel and Estelle, as well ashermother Monique Jacob and hersister, Nathalie. Herfuneral will be held at4 p.m. onMonday at theAssomptioncathedral inTrois-Rivires.