By Canadian Press

Hundreds attend funeral for Quebec legislature member Sylvie Roy

Aug 8, 2016 | 1:15 AM

TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. — Hundreds of people gathered Monday for the funeral of Sylvie Roy, a member of Quebec’s legislature known in the province for her tenacious fight in pressuring the government to create a public inquiry into corruption in the construction industry.

Roy, 51, died a week ago from acute hepatitis and had sat as an independent since last August after leaving the Coalition for Quebec’s Future (CAQ).

Many politicians from Quebec’s political class attended the service, including Premier Philippe Couillard.

Roy represented the central Quebec riding of Arthabaska and had been in provincial politics since 2003, when she won her riding for the Action democratique du Quebec (ADQ), the precursor to the CAQ.

Mario Dumont, ex-leader of the ADQ who first recruited Roy to politics, said “to the members of the legislature of all political parties, your presence here confirms your appreciation for a woman who gave a lot.”

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The service took place at a cathedral in Trois-Rivieres, Que., where Roy grew up.

All of the speeches mentioned the tenacity and rigour with which Roy led her political dossiers.

She was widely saluted for the public pressure she put on then-premier Jean Charest to open a public inquiry into the province’s construction industry and illegal donations to political parties.

The inquiry was launched in 2011 and led to a number of reforms regarding political donations and the awarding of public contracts.

A friend and adviser Eric Vachon said: “I hope in the sky they took care to organize their files because she’s going to have a lot of questions.”

The Canadian Press