Minister of Labour, Manpower and Income Security The Liberals won a
majority government in the
1985 provincial election, and Bourassa became premier of Quebec for a second time. There were early rumours that he would appoint Paradis as
Minister of Agriculture, but this idea was opposed by the
Union des producteurs agricoles. Instead, Bourassa appointed Paradis as
Minister of Labour and
Minister of Manpower and Income Security on 12 December 1985. ;Social assistance policy Paradis revived a dormant government policy of sending inspectors to the homes of people receiving
social assistance in 1986. He said this would reduce the number of erroneous files and likely save the province sixty-eight million dollars in one year. Critics charged that the inspections would lead to invasions of privacy and intimidation. The
Ligue des droits et libertés and the
Quebec Human Rights Commission strongly opposed the practice, and the
Quebec Legal Services Commission argued that mandatory visits were unconstitutional. Paradis responded that the
Justice Ministry had determined the visits were legal and that a provincial code of ethics would prevent abuses. Following extensive criticism, the city of
Montreal quietly stopped the inspections in January 1988. Paradis also announced in 1986 that social assistance recipients who owned cottages, boats, second cars, snowmobiles, or houses with more than $50,000 equity would have their rates reduced. While acknowledging that out-of-work adults who had exhausted their
unemployment insurance had the right to keep some of their possessions, he added that the government had to set limits on luxury items and that this reform would allow greater payments to the "truly needy." In late 1987, Paradis introduced further reforms that increased payments for those unfit to work, provided financial assistance to low-paid parents of young children, introduced a tax credit allowing welfare recipients to take minor jobs without jeopardizing their payments, and ended a policy of paying older recipients more than younger recipients. The reforms also required that able-bodied recipients take training, do community work, or accept minor, low-paid jobs; failure to do any of these would result in payment cuts. Paradis argued that the new policy would allow more recipients to enter the workforce; critics argued it would provide a supply of cheap labour for Quebec businesses. A
The Globe and Mail summary noted that the bill had both progressive and conservative elements. ;Construction sector Paradis introduced legislation in 1986 to create the
Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) to oversee Quebec's construction sector. The commission was overseen by representatives from labour, management, and the government and was mandated to issue certificates based on competency. Access to the construction trade had previously been determined by work experience, and Paradis said the new system would provide opportunities for younger workers. ;Other Paradis initiated a back-to-work order in March 1986 that ended a strike of 4,200
blue-collar workers in
Montreal. The strike affected garbage collection and road repair, and Paradis argued it had created a safety concern; he also charged that the union neglected its responsibility to provide essential services. In June of the same year, he introduced emergency legislation to end a one-day strike of 100,000 construction workers across the province. In 1987, Paradis led cabinet in suspending the right to strike of maintenance workers in
Montreal Transit. Paradis increased the provincial minimum wage from four dollars to $4.75 per hour between 1986 and 1988. He worked to prevent layoffs at the
Steinberg grocery chain in 1988.
Minister of Municipal Affairs Paradis was appointed as
Minister of Municipal Affairs and
Minister responsible for Housing in July 1988. In this capacity, he oversaw the province's response to unusual developments in the city of
Saint-Laurent. Following a complex dispute over municipal development, four opposition councillors decided to boycott council meetings and deny quorum. Paradis said in April 1989 that the situation had "sufficiently exhausted the patience of government", although he resisted calls to impose trusteeship before a key municipal by-election. In July 1989, Paradis initiated legislation that saved the city of
Montreal from paying $228 million in business tax refunds. A
Quebec Superior Court decision earlier in the year had struck down parts of a municipal taxation bylaw; this decision prompted a flood of lawsuits, and Paradis reluctantly intervened to protect city's credit rating.
Minister of the Environment Paradis was re-elected in the
1989 provincial election and was promoted to
Minister of the Environment in October 1989. When
Daniel Johnson succeeded Bourassa in January 1994, he changed Paradis's title to minister of the Environment and Wildlife. He also served as the
Government House Leader from 1992 to 1994. ;Ministry reforms At the time of Paradis's appointment, the Quebec environment ministry was known for being disorganized and bureaucratic. In November 1989, he introduced restructuring changes directed toward fighting industrial pollution. The most notable change was the appointment of a
deputy minister for sustainable development, charged with ensuring that new industrial projects would be environmentally sound. The following year, Paradis expressed disappointment that his department received only fifteen million dollars for restructuring rather than the expected fifty million. ;Great Whale River project As Environment Minister, Paradis was responsible for overseeing Quebec's environmental assessment of the proposed
Great Whale River project. As such, he became involved in separate but overlapping controversies with one of his cabinet colleagues, the
government of Canada, and the
Cree of northern Quebec. Paradis and provincial
Energy Minister Lise Bacon engaged in a public dispute over Great Whale's schedule in 1990. Bacon wanted a two-stage environmental assessment that would allow access roads and airports to be constructed as quickly as possible. Paradis initially agreed, but he later called for a single comprehensive assessment when the Cree warned that a two-stage process would violate a prior agreement. He also stressed that Great Whale could be shut down if it was found to be environmentally unsound, while Bacon argued that it was necessary for Quebec's energy needs. The government ultimately approved the two-stage approach over Paradis's objections. Paradis also opposed the federal government's bid to conduct an independent environmental assessment, on the grounds that Great Whale was within Quebec's jurisdiction. He reached an agreement with federal
Environment Minister Robert de Cotret in January 1991 to conduct a shared review of the project's dams, but not of its roads and other infrastructure. This agreement later fell through due to differences between the parties. De Cotret's successor,
Jean Charest, tried to establish a single, comprehensive assessment involving both levels of government; although Paradis still supported the idea of a single assessment, he opposed what he described as Charest's encroachment into the provincial domain. The Cree of northern Quebec opposed the Great Whale project on the grounds that it would cause massive flooding in their traditional territories. Under
Matthew Coon Come's leadership, the Cree used lawsuits and an international publicity campaign to draw attention to their concerns. Paradis expressed support for their position, although he criticized tactical decisions made by the Cree leadership. The Bourassa government curtailed its development plans in August 1991, and Paradis announced that construction would not begin until a thorough environmental review had taken place. The following month, the
Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government was legally bound to undertake a comprehensive study of the project's effects on the environment and indigenous communities, and that it therefore had final authority over the project. The court also ruled that the federal and provincial governments could not undertake a joint review without agreement from the Cree and
Inuit. The Great Whale project was ultimately cancelled by the Quebec government 1994. ;Federal–provincial relations In 1989, Paradis and
Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley successfully pressured the federal government to increase standards for motor vehicle emissions. Paradis and Bradley also worked to harmonize their respective environmental laws, to ensure that companies would not be able to leave one province for the other to avoid regulation. The
Parliament of Canada passed a law in 1992 to increase federal oversight of projects such as dams and paper mills. Paradis described the law as "totalitarian", arguing that it encroached on Quebec's jurisdiction. The bill was not proclaimed into law until late 1994, by which time the Quebec Liberal Party was out of office. In early 1994, Paradis reached an agreement with new federal Environment Minister
Sheila Copps for a six-year program to clean up the
Great Lakes and
Saint Lawrence River. In the same year, the Quebec Environment Ministry was given sole responsibility for enforcing pulp and paper environmental regulations. ;Other environmental concerns In October 1991, Paradis approved a gas processing and storage project by Soligaz in
Varennes. The initial provincial review recommended that the project be rejected due to safety concerns, although two subsequent reviews called for the government to approve it. Paradis ordered the closure of a Tioxide plant in
Tracy, Quebec in 1992, saying that the company had repeatedly broken its promise to improve environmental standards. The plant had long been regarded as one of Quebec's worst polluters. The company initially challenged the ruling, but shut down part of the operation in 1993. A
Montreal Gazette report in late 1991 noted that Paradis had "injected new vigor into the enforcement of anti-pollution laws" but added that he had not succeeding in making the environment a priority of the Bourassa government. ;Canadian federalism As a vocal supporter of
Canadian federalism, Paradis had little involvement in the Bourassa government's turn to
Quebec nationalism after the failure of the
Meech Lake Accord. He opposed the nationalist
Allaire Report and promoted changes to Quebec's
Charter of the French Language to permit an increased use of languages other than French on public signs. In 1994, however, Paradis said that his party would need to reach out to Quebec nationalists for the "Non" side to win the next
referendum on sovereignty. Paradis chose not to run for the Liberal Party leadership when Robert Bourassa resigned for health reasons in 1993. Daniel Johnson won the leadership without opposition. ==House Leader of the Official Opposition==