Gordon Fairweather

Robert Gordon Lee Fairweather, OC ONB QC (March 27, 1923 – December 24, 2008) was a lawyer and Canadian politician.

Robert Gordon Lee Fairweather
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Royal
In office
1962–1968
Preceded byHugh John Flemming
Succeeded byThe electoral district was abolished in 1966.
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Fundy—Royal
In office
1968–1977
Preceded byThe electoral district was created in 1966.
Succeeded byRobert Corbett
Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for King's
In office
1952–1962
Personal details
Born(1923-03-27)March 27, 1923
Rothesay, New Brunswick
DiedDecember 24, 2008(2008-12-24) (aged 85)
Saint John, New Brunswick
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Other political
affiliations		Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
Spouse(s)Nancy Elizabeth Broughall
RelationsJack Fairweather, father
Elsie Wayne, cousin
Alma materRothesay Collegiate
University of New Brunswick
Osgoode Hall Law School
OccupationLawyer, politician
CabinetProvincial:
Attorney General (1958–1960)

Fairweather was born in Rothesay, New Brunswick, the son of J.H.A.L. Fairweather and Agnes C. McKeen. Fairweather was educated at Rothesay Collegiate. He served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II from 1941 to 1945, retiring with the rank of lieutenant commander. He then obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1949 and went on to earn his doctorate at Osgoode Hall. He was called to the bar in 1949 and entered the practice of law in Saint John. In 1958, he was named Queen's Counsel.

In 1946, he married Nancy Elizabeth Broughall. They had two sons, Michael and Hugh, and a daughter, Wendy.

From 1952 to 1962, he represented King's County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick and from 1958 to 1960 he was the Attorney General.

In 1962, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Progressive Conservative candidate for the New Brunswick riding of Royal. He was re-elected in 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972, and 1974.

From 1977 to 1987, he was appointed the first chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.[1] From 1989 to 1992, he was founding chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.[2]

He was an official observer of elections in Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Malaysia and headed the Canadian delegation at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on three occasions. He received honorary doctoral degrees from several universities, the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service in 1990, the 1997 Tarnopolsky Award for fostering human rights, the 1999 Canadian Red Cross (New Brunswick Branch) Humanitarian of the Year Award,[3] and the 2002 New Brunswick Pioneer of Human Rights Award.[4]

In 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for notable services to his country".[5] In 2005, he was awarded the Order of New Brunswick.[6]

His cousin Elsie Wayne was also a member of the House of Commons and served as acting leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party during 1998.

A well-known Red Tory, he fought for abortion rights and bilingualism and against capital punishment. In June 1977 an amendment put forward by Gordon Fairweather to add sexual orientation to the Canadian Human Rights Act was defeated in committee: only Fairweather and Stuart Leggatt (NDP, who had introduced a similar amendment) voted in favour.[7] When the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was being drafted, he urged addition to the Charter of protections based on physical handicap, marital status, and sexual orientation.

In the 2004 election campaign, after the merger of the PC Party with the Canadian Alliance, he admitted he was struggling with the new party's social conservatism. "I'm a Red Tory and I'm anxious to see that the party is broadly based. The centre is where anyone who expects to form a government should be," said Fairweather. "I don't like seeing issues that have been long settled by the Supreme Court or the Constitution or time, being hauled out of the barn."[8]

Fairweather died on December 24, 2008 at the age of 85.[9][10]

Archives

There is a Gordon Fairweather fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[11] Archival reference number is R3816.

References
  • Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1963, PG Normandin
  1. "Rights champion dismisses anti-gay stance". CBC News. May 12, 2003. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  2. "Former Chairpersons of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada". Government of Canada. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  3. "NB Humanitarian Awards – Past Recipients". Canadian Red Cross. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  4. "New Brunswick human rights awards presented". Government of New Brunswick. September 12, 2012. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  5. "Order of Canada citation". Office of the Governor General. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  6. "Order of New Brunswick recipients announced". Communications New Brunswick. August 1, 2005. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  7. "Federal human rights protection". The Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  8. Jones, Robert (June 15, 2004). "Atlantic Canada's red Tory strongholds struggle with party merger". CBC News. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  9. "Former MP Gordon Fairweather dies at 85". CBC News. December 24, 2008. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  10. "Rights advocate Gordon Fairweather dead at 85". Ottawa Citizen. December 27, 2008. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  11. "Finding aid to Gordon Fairweather fonds, Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-05-25.
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