The Independent

The soon-to-be built Forest school has a new name.

The Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 school will be called the Blue Coast District School.

In 2023, the Lambton-Kent District School Board announced the yet-to-be built school would be named Lambton Shores Community School.

That raised concerns with the Indigenous trustee on the board. Trustee Roberta Northmore’s concern was using Lambton, which came from John George Lambton – the county’s namesake.

Lambton was made governor general of British North America in 1838 and came to Canada to investigate the causes of the two rebellions that took place in Upper and Lower Canada in 1837-38. He quit before the end of 1838, but submitted a controversial report in January 1839, which recommended a framework for responsible government and the union of Upper and Lower Canada. He has been criticized because of his desire to assimilate French Canadians into the English Canadian population.

At the time of the original naming of the Forest school, Northmore said using his name was “old colonial thinking.”

But after scanning through 176 different name choices at a committee, the board moved ahead.

But a year later, after hearing continued concerns, the board agreed to start again. The naming committee worked with members of local First Nations, considered some of the original names and accepted submissions for new names before asking students across the system to vote.

The result is Blue Coast District School.

Director of Education, Gary Girardi, said in a news release it has been a “thoughtful and at times complex process” trying to find the schools name, but “incredibly rewarding.”