Politician
Facal first sought election to the Quebec legislature in the 1989 general election for the Montreal division of Dorion. He finished second against incumbent Liberal Party candidate Violette Trépanier, a minister in Robert Bourassa's government.
He was narrowly elected on his second attempt in the 1994 general election for the Laval division of Fabre. The Parti Québécois won a majority government under Jacques Parizeau's leadership, and Facal entered the legislative as a government backbencher. From December 1994 to March 1996 he chaired the assembly's commission de l'éducation. In 1995, he openly expressed scepticism about Premier Parizeau's strategy of holding a referendum on sovereignty during the Parti Québécois's first full year in government.
Lucien Bouchard succeeded Parizeau as Parti Québécois leader and premier of Quebec on 26 January 1996, and appointed Facal as his parliamentary secretary three days later. Facal subsequently represented the Bouchard government on missions to Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and in 1997 he served as vice-president of the Parliamentary Conference of the Americas held in Quebec City. In the same year, he chaired a legislative committee that recommended downsizing in the Quebec civil service and the number of government agencies.
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