By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

New middle school to be named after Joyce Fairbairn

Mar 12, 2018 | 10:53 AM

LETHBRIDGE – The new middle school under construction on the western edge of Lethbridge will be named in honour of a former journalist and member of the Senate.

The school at 301 Rocky Mountain Blvd. W. will be named Senator Joyce Fairbairn Middle School. Fairbairn was recommended for appointment to the Senate by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau just before he left office in 1984.

“Senator Fairbairn’s dedication to making our country a better place for all Canadians, through her tireless work on myriad causes, is truly remarkable,” Clark Bosch, chair of the Board of Trustees of Lethbridge School District No. 51, said in a news release.

Fairbairn, born and raised in Lethbridge, worked as a reporter covering Parliament for the United Press International wire service and for the F.P. Publications newspaper chain. In 1970 she was hired as a legislative assistant to Trudeau and became communications coordinator for the Prime Minister’s Office in 1981.

Following her appointment to the Senate, she served on several communities and chaired the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and the Special Senate Committee on the Anti-Terrorism Act. In 1993 she was the first woman to be named Leader of the Government in the Senate. As Minister with Special Responsibility for Literacy, she was credited with starting a national debate on the subject. Fairbairn stepped down for health reasons in 2012.

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“No matter how big or small an event, she would display a keen interest in that event,” said Glenn Miller, who volunteered as her driver for 15 years. “Through that experience, I was able to see how much she cared about her province and her country.”

Senator Joyce Fairbairn Middle School will open its doors to students in Grades 6-8 in Fall 2018.