Interview with Literacy's Joyce Fairbairn

In 1993 the Prime Minister appointed Joyce Fairbaim the first Cabinet Minister with Special Responsibility for Literacy and Leader of the Government in the Senate. Following the June 1997 federal election, she resigned as Senate Leader but remains an active advocate for literacy issues. Literacy B.C. interviewed the Senator from her Ottawa office recently end asked her to tell us about her work in literacy.

Joyce Fairbairn became a Senator from Alberta in 1984 after working for six years as a journalist and 14 years as senior legislative advisor to Prime Minister Trudeau. One of her first acts as a Senator was to join the Special Senate Committee on Youth which toured the country that year.

During these hearings, the committee heard about youth concerns such as unemployment, poverty and family breakdown, from children, parents, teachers and others, and -- unexpectedly, she recalls -- about literacy and learning disabilities. She says this experience was the catalyst that started her thinking about literacy.

"I was absolutely haunted by this because it hadn't surfaced before," she says. "In terms of a national debate, the issue simply wasn't there." She decided to become more knowledgeable and "do something to bring literacy to the forefront. "

By 1987, Southam had decided to publish its groundbreaking series of articles which measured and reported on the literacy levels of Canadian adults. The 40-part series appeared in dozens of Canadian newspapers and was reprinted as a book, "Broken Words." Fairbairn recalls that the series caused quite a stir. That year she initiated debate on literacy in the Senate.

"The Southam report stunned some people," says Fairbairn. The federal government took action and the National Literacy Secretariat was formed in 1988. International Literacy Year, following in 1990, "gave everybody goals to achieve in terms of raising awareness." Continued