Raymond Gravel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raymond Gravel
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| Member of Parliament for Repentigny |
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| In office November 27, 2006 – October 14, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Benoît Sauvageau |
| Succeeded by | Nicolas Dufour |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 4, 1952 Saint-Damien-de-Brandon, Quebec |
| Died | August 11, 2014 (aged 61) Lanaudière, Quebec |
| Political party | Bloc Québécois |
| Residence | Repentigny, Quebec |
| Profession | Priest |
Raymond Gravel (November 4, 1952 – August 11, 2014) was a Canadian Catholic priest and politician from the province of Quebec. Gravel was formerly the Member of Parliament for the riding of Repentigny, as a member of the Bloc Québécois. He was elected to the House of Commons in a November 27, 2006 by-election following the death of Benoît Sauvageau.
He entered the seminary in 1982 and became a priest.
He was acclaimed as the Bloc's candidate on October 29, 2006. He received a dispensation from Gilles Lussier, Bishop of Joliette, to enter politics. Elected with a large majority in the Bloc stronghold, he became the Bloc critic for seniors' issues.
However, when Gravel was ordered by the Vatican to either give up the priesthood or leave politics, he finally announced he would not run in the 2008 election, saying that the priesthood was his life. He cited as his biggest regret his inability to pass his private member's bill C-490, which aimed to improve seniors' access to guaranteed income supplements.
In 2014, he died of lung cancer. He was 61.
