Flag @cityofsaintjohn had been lowered to half-mast in memory of Mrs. Shirley Dysart pic.twitter.com/i8d6kUvWhS
— Don Darling (@dondarlingSJ) December 15, 2016
Premier Brian Gallant describes the late Shirley Dysart as someone who consistently shattered glass ceilings for women in politics thereby making her one of the province’s most important political figures of the 20th century.
She was the province’s first female leader of the Official Opposition, the first woman to become Education Minister and the first woman to be the Speaker of the legislative assembly.
Saint John-Rothesay M-P Wayne Long says women who are in politics today owe a lot to her legacy.
Long says for her to hold on to her riding of Saint John North for twenty years would be almost unheard of today when politicians generally have a limited shelf life.
