René Piché

Who was René Piché?

René L. Piché was a Canadian politician, who served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1985.

He briefly served as a cabinet minister for Northern Transportation in the government of Frank Miller. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. While in the Legislature, Piché was appointed Government Whip and named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Revenue. He also served on two legislative committees: Administration of Justice and Ombudsman.

Piché was the founding chairman of Northeastern Ontario Municipalities Action Group, serving for nine years as its chairman between 1972 and 1980. In addition, Piché served as a member of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission for seven years from 1973 to 1980.

Piché began his political career at the municipal level, serving as mayor of Kapuskasing for 13 years from 1971 to 1980, and returning to office again in 1991 for three more years. He was elected for the Cochrane North constituency in the 1981 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Jean-Paul Bourgeault by 188 votes. He served as a backbench supporter of Bill Davis's government for four years, and was named a minister without portfolio when Miller succeeded Davis as premier on February 8, 1985.