Roy Brassard
Encyclopedia
Roy Brassard
was a Canadian
politician who served as a Progressive Conservative
Alberta
MLA
, and more recently a public school board member.
for Olds-Didsbury
in 1986, 1989, and 1993.
In 1991, the then premier of Alberta, Don Getty
created a new ministry to deal with seniors affairs, selecting Brassard to be the minister. He had already dealt with senior issues while he was Associate Minister of Family and Social Services.
In 1996 Brassard announced he was retiring from provincial politics to spend more time with his family.
Roy Brassard served on the Board of Education for Chinook’s Edge School Division from 1998 to 2007. From 1978 to 1980, Roy was a trustee representing the Town of Didsbury on the Board of Education for the County of Mountain View.
Roy was elected Board Chair every year for the nine years he served Chinook’s Edge School Division. In 1998 he faced the challenge of following a Board that had been fractured, acrimonious, and had lost credibility with its public. Part of the problem was a disgruntled staff that was resentful of a forced amalgamation of two school jurisdictions. Roy quietly set about healing the rifts. Each trustee was made to feel important and included. He valued everyone’s contribution and patiently oversaw debates to their conclusion. Through his good sense, fairness, and gentlemanliness, a high standard of civility reigned at meetings. This new attitude permeated the whole Division and it was not long into his time as Board Chair that employees forgot the old loyalties and saw themselves as members of an exciting new jurisdiction.
Placing emphasis on benefiting children was central to Roy’s philosophy of trusteeship. Under his leadership the motto of Chinook’s Edge became “Where students come first” and most Board meetings included a visit from students who had accomplished something notable. His welcome and congratulations for them were genuine and warm. The Chair also established the practice of school visits by trustees. He was never more relaxed and happy than mixing and chatting with a group of students that he had never met before.
Roy was an extremely conscientious trustee. He made it one of his goals to try to raise the community’s awareness of the importance of the elected trustee position and encouraged other Board members to do the same. Promotion of the Division and its schools through power point presentations to influential groups, newspaper articles and interviews, meetings with other locally elected bodies, and attendance at school council meetings were just a few of the ways he encouraged fellow trustees to raise their profile.
During his tenure and with his support, two innovative ventures of provincial significance went ahead. The first was the development of a new middle school in Sylvan Lake. What made this unique was that it was planned and built as a joint project with the Red Deer Catholic Regional School Division. The resulting facility became two schools on the same site with students having their own distinct classrooms, yet sharing core elements such as the labs and library.
The other more recent development, is the Community Learning Centre on the Olds College campus. This ambitious project began as a need to replace or upgrade the Olds High School but with a good deal of visionary collaboration with Olds College and other partners, including the University of Alberta, Mountain View County, the Town of Olds, and Bell Canada, it has morphed into a new model for high school and rural community education. Its high tech connections will benefit learners in a wide surrounding area going beyond Chinook’s Edge boundaries. Right from the start Roy was on the planning committee for this project and realized its exciting potential. Roy's tenure also saw the construction of a long awaited new Didsbury High School completed in 2006.
(Didsbury
).
In 2005 Brassard found that because he was Catholic
he may not be able to remain on the board. According to the Alberta School Act, if an area has a Catholic separate school
district, a Catholic person in the area can not belong to the public board. After Brassard had been elected to the board, local Catholics voted to make the area part of a Catholic Separate board (effective in 2005).
That meant legally, Brassard was no longer allowed to remain on the public board. The board supported Brassard in calling this discrimination, and filing a Human Rights Complaint with the provincial Human Rights Commission.
They have also requested the province change the School Act.
Brassard would be eligible to run for the Catholic school district. However, he said his children went to the public system, so that is where he felt he should serve.
and business administration at the University of Manitoba
. In 1950 he married Sheila Haire, and raised his family in Didsbury.
was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician who served as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
, and more recently a public school board member.
Provincial government
Brassard was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of AlbertaLegislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
for Olds-Didsbury
Olds-Didsbury
Olds-Didsbury was a provincial electoral district in central southern Alberta, Canada.The riding was created in 1963 as a merger between the Olds and Didsbury ridings....
in 1986, 1989, and 1993.
In 1991, the then premier of Alberta, Don Getty
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty, OC, AOE is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before...
created a new ministry to deal with seniors affairs, selecting Brassard to be the minister. He had already dealt with senior issues while he was Associate Minister of Family and Social Services.
In 1996 Brassard announced he was retiring from provincial politics to spend more time with his family.
Local public school board
After Brassard retired from provincial politics, he became an elected trustee on, and chair of Chinook's Edge School Division No. 73, a public school district, in Ward 8 Box 1203, Didsbury, Alberta, T0M 0W0Roy Brassard served on the Board of Education for Chinook’s Edge School Division from 1998 to 2007. From 1978 to 1980, Roy was a trustee representing the Town of Didsbury on the Board of Education for the County of Mountain View.
Roy was elected Board Chair every year for the nine years he served Chinook’s Edge School Division. In 1998 he faced the challenge of following a Board that had been fractured, acrimonious, and had lost credibility with its public. Part of the problem was a disgruntled staff that was resentful of a forced amalgamation of two school jurisdictions. Roy quietly set about healing the rifts. Each trustee was made to feel important and included. He valued everyone’s contribution and patiently oversaw debates to their conclusion. Through his good sense, fairness, and gentlemanliness, a high standard of civility reigned at meetings. This new attitude permeated the whole Division and it was not long into his time as Board Chair that employees forgot the old loyalties and saw themselves as members of an exciting new jurisdiction.
Placing emphasis on benefiting children was central to Roy’s philosophy of trusteeship. Under his leadership the motto of Chinook’s Edge became “Where students come first” and most Board meetings included a visit from students who had accomplished something notable. His welcome and congratulations for them were genuine and warm. The Chair also established the practice of school visits by trustees. He was never more relaxed and happy than mixing and chatting with a group of students that he had never met before.
Roy was an extremely conscientious trustee. He made it one of his goals to try to raise the community’s awareness of the importance of the elected trustee position and encouraged other Board members to do the same. Promotion of the Division and its schools through power point presentations to influential groups, newspaper articles and interviews, meetings with other locally elected bodies, and attendance at school council meetings were just a few of the ways he encouraged fellow trustees to raise their profile.
During his tenure and with his support, two innovative ventures of provincial significance went ahead. The first was the development of a new middle school in Sylvan Lake. What made this unique was that it was planned and built as a joint project with the Red Deer Catholic Regional School Division. The resulting facility became two schools on the same site with students having their own distinct classrooms, yet sharing core elements such as the labs and library.
The other more recent development, is the Community Learning Centre on the Olds College campus. This ambitious project began as a need to replace or upgrade the Olds High School but with a good deal of visionary collaboration with Olds College and other partners, including the University of Alberta, Mountain View County, the Town of Olds, and Bell Canada, it has morphed into a new model for high school and rural community education. Its high tech connections will benefit learners in a wide surrounding area going beyond Chinook’s Edge boundaries. Right from the start Roy was on the planning committee for this project and realized its exciting potential. Roy's tenure also saw the construction of a long awaited new Didsbury High School completed in 2006.
(Didsbury
Didsbury, Alberta
Didsbury is a town in central Alberta, Canada, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.Located next to Alberta Highway 2A, near the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, Didsbury is within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. Didsbury is approximately the half-way point between the cities of Calgary and Red...
).
In 2005 Brassard found that because he was Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
he may not be able to remain on the board. According to the Alberta School Act, if an area has a Catholic separate school
Separate school
In Canada, separate school refers to a particular type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces and statutory status in three territories...
district, a Catholic person in the area can not belong to the public board. After Brassard had been elected to the board, local Catholics voted to make the area part of a Catholic Separate board (effective in 2005).
That meant legally, Brassard was no longer allowed to remain on the public board. The board supported Brassard in calling this discrimination, and filing a Human Rights Complaint with the provincial Human Rights Commission.
They have also requested the province change the School Act.
Brassard would be eligible to run for the Catholic school district. However, he said his children went to the public system, so that is where he felt he should serve.
Personal life
Brassard studied marketing at Winnipeg's Red River CollegeRed River College
Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology is located in Winnipeg. The College offers degree, diploma, certificate, and apprenticeship programs in the applied arts, applied sciences, and various trades. The university press, The Projector, is a member of CUP.-Campus:It has a number...
and business administration at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
. In 1950 he married Sheila Haire, and raised his family in Didsbury.