Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc to begin treatment for leukemia
OTTAWA — Dominic LeBlanc was on his feet in question period Wednesday, cheerfully batting down opposition queries with his customary partisan enthusiasm — just two hours after announcing that he’s been diagnosed with leukemia.
The affable 50-year-old said he’s confident his illness won’t get in the way of his work as a Liberal MP and federal fisheries minister — and his robust performance in the House of Commons, where he’s been filling in all week for a travelling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seemed to underline that optimism.
On his way into the Commons, LeBlanc went out of his way to play down the seriousness of his condition, saying he had initially hoped to keep it all secret to avoid having to discuss his health in front of television cameras.
He only decided to go public because he’s about to start “chemo immunotherapy” next week in Moncton, N.B. — a small place where showing up for outpatient treatment at a hospital two mornings a month for the next six months won’t go unnoticed.