Joyce Sandra Hayden (September 20, 1931 – March 7, 2009) 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 ...

politician, who represented the

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

Whitehorse South Centre Whitehorse South Centre was a territorial electoral district in Yukon. Serving the city of Whitehorse, the district elected one member to the Yukon Territorial Council from 1974 to 1978, and to the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 1978 to 1992. M ...

in the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada, three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only terri ...

from 1989 to 1992. She was a member of the

Yukon New Democratic Party The Yukon New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Yukon) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Yukon, political party in the Yukon territory of Canada. The Yukon NDP first formed the gover ...

Background

Hayden was born in Glaslyn, Saskatchewan and raised in Birch Lake,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. She married Earle Hayden in 1949, and the couple moved to the Yukon in 1953. As founding president of the Yukon Status of Women Council, she spearheaded a campaign to institute a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

system in

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

, securing an $80,000 grant from

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

to set up a community system, the Yukon Women's Minibus Society.Joyce Hayden
biography at Inventive Women. She was also active in the

Girl Guides of Canada Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; french: Guides du Canada) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (W ...

and the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

. She had been legally blind since 1983.

Politics

Hayden was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 1989 election, succeeding

Roger Kimmerly Roger Stephen Kimmerly is a Canadian former politician, who represented the electoral district of Whitehorse South Centre in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Yukon New Democratic Party."Staunch New Democ ...

in the district of

. She served as Minister of Health and Social Services in the final cabinet of

Tony Penikett Antony David John "Tony" Penikett (born November 14, 1945) is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada, who served as the third premier of Yukon from 1985 to 1992. Early life and political activity Born in Sussex, Engla ...

. In that role, she briefly faced controversy when two

young offenders A young offender is a young person who has been convicted or cautioned for a criminal offense. Criminal justice systems often deal with young offenders differently from adult offenders, but different countries apply the term "young offender" ...

who had escaped from a youth detention facility turned themselves in to her office, and she spent some time talking to them over lunch before turning them back over to the police. She did not run in the 1992 election.

Career after politics

Hayden went on to be active in the Yukon Commission on Unity, Hospice Yukon and Whitehorse Northern Women: Different Lives, Common Threads Circumpolar Women's Conference. She also wrote two books on Yukon history, including ''Yukon's Women of Power''. In 2003, she was a recipient of the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in Commemoration of the Person's Case. She died in 2009."A dedicated dynamo’s voice has been stilled". ''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. When founded in 1900 it appeared only once a week, and its progress to Monday through Friday publication occurred in fits and starts; it was issued twice a week for a ...

'', March 13, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Joyce 1931 births 2009 deaths Yukon New Democratic Party MLAs Women MLAs in Yukon Writers from Whitehorse Politicians from Whitehorse Canadian women historians Canadian biographers Canadian blind people Blind politicians Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners Canadian politicians with disabilities Women biographers 20th-century biographers 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women politicians Canadian women non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian historians