It is with sadness that the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) learned of the death of Dr. Louis E. Bernard, its first president and CEO. His mandate lasted from 1998 to 2003.
Alongside Minister Jean Rochon, Dr. Bernard was one of the builders of the INSPQ. His contribution was fundamental, particularly in setting up the structure of this new organization, but above all, in his ability to bring together various stakeholders in order to create an environment conducive to collaboration. Dr. Bernard was a visionary. He was convinced that Quebec deserved a major public health institute. The INSPQ constitutive law still reflects this vision.
A pediatrician by training and specialist in community health, he was also professor emeritus at Laval University, where he trained numerous generations of public health professionals.
Dr. Bernard also made the history of public health by becoming a member of the Académie des Grands Québécois in 2012.
In November 2023, the INSPQ had the honor of welcoming Dr. Bernard during an evening celebrating his 25 years of creation. This event is one of the few to have brought together all of the organization’s highest-ranking leaders, past and present, in one place*. An image that will remain engraved in institutional memory forever.
-His death leaves a void, but his legacy will continue to guide the INSPQ and Quebec public health to the highest heights.
The INSPQ extends its sympathies to the family of Dr. Bernard and to anyone affected by his death.
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