New Westminster school trustees voted unanimously to move forward with the name École John Robson for the new Grade 6 to 8 middle school being built next year.
Trustee David Phelan made a motion to endorse the name, which was recommended last year by a naming committee, at a school board committee meeting on Tuesday night.
"This is a name with a lot of history," Phelan told the board.
He acknowledged that Robson, the man, was controversial figure - like most of the politicians of his time, he supported racist policies against both Chinese and First Nations people - but added that he was a strong supporter of the women's suffrage movement and of women's rights in general. Robson is the former premier of British Columbia and is the namesake of Vancouver's famed shopping strip.
Trustee Lisa Graham said she would have liked it if the naming committee provided a couple of options, including Dr. Ethlyn Trapp, a New Westminster-born medical pioneer. The radiotherapist was instrumental in the opening of the British Columbia Cancer Institute.
"If you want to talk about history, and the fact that the site on that very site was the former T.J. Trapp school," Graham said, adding that there are no schools in the city named after New Westminster-born women.
Both Phelan and Graham were on the committee, which also came up with the name for the new elementary school: Qayqayt. The name comes from the Qayqayt First Nation (pronounced Kee-Kite), also known as the New Westminster Indian Band. It roughly translates into "resting place."
"The committee was really thoughtful in how they deliberated," Graham said.
The naming of the new middle school was delayed for a year. Board of education chair Jonina Campbell said one of the reasons it was is held up is that she wanted the new school named after a woman.
"But upon further consideration, I also recognize that a lot went into the decision to make to this recommendation to the board, and I respect that," she said.
Campbell also noted that Robson was an advocate for women's rights.
"Every year he submitted a vote to give women the right to vote," she said. "He also was an advocate for voter reform, and the other thing is he was an advocate for public education. ... Things I can identify with."
The middle school name will come before trustees again at a meeting on Jan. 28, where they will vote for a final time on whether or not to approve the new name. The new middle school is slated to built in 2015.
