Gretta Chambers (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Taylor; January 15, 1927 – September 9, 2017) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
journalist and former Chancellor of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
.
Life and career
Chambers grew up in Outremont and attended
Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School
Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School (ECS) is an independent school for girls that is located in Westmount, Quebec. It is situated near other schools, including Selwyn House School and The Study. The school teaches students from Kindergarten u ...
and
Netherwood School. She received a BA in political science from McGill University in 1947. She worked in radio and television and wrote for several newspapers and magazines. From 1966 until 1980, she was the host of the weekly CBC radio show called ''The Province in Print''. From 1977 to 2002, she had a weekly column in the
Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
.
Since its inception in 1991, until her death in 2017, she was involved with the Montreal Consortium for Human Rights Advocacy Training (MCHRAT) at McGill University. When a MCHRAT project, the
McGill Middle East Program McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to:
People
* McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname)
* McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...
(MMEP), took off in 1997, Chambers became a Co-Chair of its Executive and Management Committees.
She was Chancellor of McGill University from 1991 to 1999, the first woman to serve in this position. In 2003,
Martin Cauchon
Martin Cauchon, (born August 23, 1962) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec Canada. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He is married to Dorine Perron and together, they have three children : ...
, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, appointed her to the
Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission The Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission is a Canadian commission that recommends judicial salaries for federally appointed judges.
The commission was created in 1999 by the government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, under the Judges Act ...
, effective until August 31, 2007.
Her brother is McGill University philosopher
Charles Taylor.
Charles Taylor awarded Templeton
/ref> Her husband was Egan Chambers
Egan Chambers (March 22, 1921 – May 5, 1994) was a Canadian politician.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, he was educated at Selwyn House School and Bishop's College School. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1958 federal elec ...
, former Canadian member of parliament.
Honours and awards
In 1993, she was named an Officer of the National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...
. In 1994, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
, and she was promoted to Companion in 2000.
References
External links
*
*
Chancellor Emerita Gretta Chambers, 1927-2017
McGill Reporter, 9 September 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Gretta
1927 births
2017 deaths
Anglophone Quebec people
Canadian women journalists
Chancellors of McGill University
Companions of the Order of Canada
Journalists from Montreal
McGill University alumni
Officers of the National Order of Quebec
Writers from Montreal
Canadian women non-fiction writers
Canadian columnists
Canadian women columnists