The Persons' Case (1929) {The Famous Five: Henrietta Muir

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Persons' Case (1929) {The Famous Five: Henrietta Muir The Persons' Case (1929) {The Famous Five: Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby}. Issue: Can a women hold the office of Senator? [The Canadian government said no, but put the matter before the courts. Question they put before Supreme Court Does the word "Persons" in section 24 of the British North America Act 1867, include female persons? The Supreme Court of Canada replied that the word "person" did not include female persons. Fortunately, for Canadian women, the Famous 5 were able to appeal to an even higher court, the British Privy Council. The question was duly submitted to them and on October 18, 1929 they overturned the decision of the Supreme Court by deciding that the word "person" did indeed include persons of the female gender. The word "person" always had a much broader meaning than its strict legal definition, and it therefore had been used to exclude women from university degrees, from voting, from entering the professions and from holding public office. The definition of "person" became a threshold test of women's equality. Only when Canadian women had been legally recognized as persons could they gain access to public life. After 1929, the door was open for women to lobby for further changes to achieve equality. As women across Canada can confirm today, that struggle continues. The 1929 Persons' Case is one of the major achievements by Canadians for Canadians. The Famous 5 succeeded in having women defined as "persons" in Section 24 of the British North America Act and thereby, eligible for appointment to the Senate. This victory symbolized the right of women to participate in all facets of life, to "dream big" and to strive to realize their potential. .
Recommended publications
  • Introduction to World War I My Top 3-5 Points from Brainstorm on “War” My Top 3-5 Points from Video Clip on WWI
    Name: ____________________________Date:______________________Block:___________ Introduction to World War I My Top 3-5 Points from Brainstorm on “War” My Top 3-5 Points from Video Clip on WWI ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 1. Identify the four major causes for World War I and their definitions. Write about Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism below. Make sure to give examples and talk about your examples when you are writing your reasons. Issue Summary and Examples Significance and Reasoning M -2 -1 0 1 2 Minor Cause Major Cause Reasons: A -2 -1 0 1 2 Minor Cause Major Cause Reasons: I -2 -1 0 1 2 Minor Cause Major Cause Reasons: N -2 -1 0 1 2 Minor Cause Major Cause Reasons: 2. On the map below, color and design a legend to illustrate the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente (pg. 175). 3. Draw a timeline illustrating the Domino Effect (pg.175): 4. Who was Franz Ferdinand and how did he contribute to the start of WWI? 5. Using the interactive map on the UK national archives site (http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/first- world-war/a-global-view/), click on Canada and Newfoundland. Read through the Overview, Western Front, Homefront, Regiments, Other Forces and Key Figures to complete the chart below: Western Front: Details of Homefront: Details of issues at Other forces/Key battles, number of home, how the people felt about Figures/events: Details you soldiers/casualties, events of the war find interesting the war Canada Newfoundland Name: _________________________Date:___________________________Block:_________ Canada’s Entrance Into World War I My Top 3-5 Points on why Canada & Canadians My Top 3-5 Points from Discussion & Video about why want to join and fight in World War I.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    140 ALBERTA LAW REVIEW [VOL. XXXV, NO. I 1996] SNAPSHOTS THEN AND NOW: FEMINISM AND THE LAW IN ALBERTA ANNALISE ACORN• The pioneering efforts of women such as Emily Les efforts audacieux de certaines pionnieres tel/es Murphy in Alberta during the early part of this que Emily Murphy en Alberta au debut du siecle ont cenJury effected legal change and altered women's fail evoluer /es lois et transforme la condition lives. Women began to see the law as a vehicle for feminine. Les femmes ont commence apercevoir la social change, entitling them to property and giving Loi comme un outil de changement social /eur rise to new expectations that a world of "true donnant droit a la propriete et porteur d'un monde happiness" would emerge. de« reel bonheur ». However, this time also saw the beginnings of Mais cette epoque a egalement donne lieu a des fractures and divisions in the modern feminist fractures et des divisions fondees sur la race, la movement based on race, class and sexual clas.se et /'orientation sexuelle dan.s le mouvement orientation. Late twentieth century feminist theory feministe moderne. La theorie feministe de la fin du has, in part, been an attempt to overcome XX siecle s 'efforce en partie de surmonter /es theoretical imperatives of universalism (the nature imperatifs de /'universalisme (la nature de of mankind) and essentia/ism (features common to I 'humanile} et de I 'essentialisme (/es all women}, with mixed results. Nonetheless, the caracteri.stiques communes a toutes /es femmes) failures of feminists in this area who have acted at avec un succes mitige.
    [Show full text]
  • Emily Murphy
    Emily Murphy These questions can help to guide a student’s viewing of the Emily Murphy biography. 1. What metaphors are commonly used by historians to describe Emily Murphy? 2. How would you describe Emily’s childhood and education? List important characteristics she developed or events that occurred during this period in her life. 3. What prompted Emily Murphy to begin writing her series of Janey Canuck books? Whose travels were these books based on? 4. Which type of feminism is Emily said to have supported? How is it described in the video? 5. What is the name of the legislation to protect women’s property rights that Emily fought for? What did this legislation guarantee women? 6. Which other influential Canadian women did Emily meet and become life-long friends with while she was living in Edmonton, Alberta? 7. How did Emily assist other Canadian women during the campaign for women’s suffrage? When was the vote given to women in Alberta? In Manitoba? In Ontario? 8. Which of Emily’s campaigns resulted in her appointment as a Court Magistrate? Why was this a cause for celebration around the world? 9. Why was the Montréal’s Women’s Club’s nomination of Emily for a seat in the Canadian Senate left in limbo for six years? How did Emily’s brother, Bill, renew her hopes of becoming appointed to the Canadian Senate? 10. Identify the four other women who make up the Famous Five with Emily. Briefly describe each of their contributions. 11. What question did the Famous Five pose to the Supreme Court of Canada, and later, the British Privy Council? 12.
    [Show full text]
  • High and Splendid Braveries
    High and Splendid Braveries HIGH AND SPLENDID BRAVERIES By Caroline Russell-King The Playwright acknowledges the assistance of the Banff playRites Colony - a partnership between the Canada Council for the Arts, The Banff Centre for the Arts, and Alberta Theatre Projects Caroline Russell-King 2021 High and Splendid Braveries HIGH AND SPLENDID BRAVERIES Was written with financial support of the Alberta Foundation of the Arts, the Banff PlayRites Colony, The Banff Centre for the Arts, and Alberta Theatre Projects - many, many thanks. DEDICATED TO My mother-in-law, Angela Matthews, such a polite political protester, who was with me at the unveiling. The Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, who shook my hand and made all the difference. The Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson and Minister Sheila Copps, role models who spoke on the day. Francis Wright, past CEO of the Famous Five Foundation - a force to be reckoned with. Gerald, my Arthur and Emma, my love. (And of course) THE FIVE Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Nellie McClung and Emily Murphy, my favourite. MY DEEPEST THANKS TO Ken Cameron, for asking great questions. Bob White, for everything at Banff and keeping me away from the BIC. Caroline Russell-King 2021 High and Splendid Braveries PLAYWRIGHT MUSEINGS This is of course, a dramatic literary translation of historic facts. I have borrowed lines from the published authors namely, Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung and Stephen Leacock. There has been the usual weaving and blurring of events to construct the dramatic arc. Initially, I had intended to write a play about The Five, but their lives were so expansive.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded Begining in the 1960S, Was Connected to the Women’S Liberation Treatment
    comparisons between moments in the past and the present, or between two points in the past. We evaluate change over time using his guide complements provincial and territorial turning points and the ideas of progress and decline. curricula in middle and high school history and Sketch from the collection of a British Prominence: Was the person or event recognized as Tsocial science classes. The historical thinking woman living near Niagara Falls, significant at the time? Why or why not? What did it mean to Primary Source Evidence is the raw material that historians use inscribed: “The black woman who framework developed by Dr. Peter Seixas and the with her husband took in + nursed the be “significant”? to assess the past. When evaluating sources — letters, newspaper poor sick black man who could not Historical Thinking Project has inspired classroom pay for his lodging - she lived near us articles, photographs, diaries, government records, etc. — we search activities to promote research and analysis, engage and became a great friend.” Caroline Consequences: What effect(s) did the person or event have? for clues to help us understand the rationale and aim of the creators, Bucknall Estcourt, 1838/1839 (courtesy critical thinking, promote communication skills, and Library and Archives Canada/Acc. No. Impact: How widespread and long-lasting was the person or and the historical context of the source. 1950-29-64/C-093963). explore ethical questions. The lessons may be used event’s impact? sequentially or individually. Cause and Consequence: Historians want to understand both Women Say No to Racism Revealing: What does the person or event reveal about the Owing to demand for more resources exploring (courtesy City of Toronto Archives/ the causes and impacts of past events.
    [Show full text]
  • Louise Crummy Mckinney (1868-1931): a Window Into Western Canadian Christianity
    Louise Crummy McKinney (1868-1931): A Window into Western Canadian Christianity ANNE WHITE Louise Crummy McKinney was a prominent social activist and popular preacher in Alberta during the first three decades of the twentieth century. McKinney was president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in Alberta and Saskatchewan for over twenty-two years, and vice-president of the Dominion WCTU for twenty-one years. Shortly before her death in 1931 she was elected as first vice-president of the World WCTU.1 In 1917 McKinney also made history by becoming the first female elected to the Alberta Provincial Legislature and the first female MLA in the British Empire. In addition, she was a Methodist local preacher, Sunday School superintendent, church organizer, Bible class leader, a champion of women’s ordination, a teacher, writer and an international speaker. Further, she was a delegate to the final Methodist General Conference in 1925, and in that same year was one of only four woman chosen to sign the Basis of Union for the United Church of Canada alongside 327 male counterparts.2 Louise C. McKinney was also one of the Famous Five women in the Persons Case, who successfully petitioned the British Privy Council in 1929 for full legal definition and recognition of women as persons under Canadian law. Forgotten Heroine Historical Papers 2000: Canadian Society of Church History 132 Louise Crummy McKinney Surprisingly, despite her many achievements, McKinney herself has never been the object of an extensive scholarly analysis. This oversight as to her important contribution to Canada was pointed out by the late Alberta author, historian, and former Lieutenant-Governor, J.W.
    [Show full text]
  • A Chamber of Though and Actions
    CANADA’S SENATE A Chamber of THOUGHT AND ACTION © 2019 Senate of Canada I 1-800-267-7362 I [email protected] 2 ABOUT THE SENATE The Senate is the Upper House in Canada’s Senators also propose their own bills and generate Parliament. It unites a diverse group of discussion about issues of national importance in accomplished Canadians in service the collegial environment of the Senate Chamber, of their country. where ideas are debated on their merit. Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, The Senate was created to ensure Canada’s regions famously called it a chamber of sober second thought were represented in Parliament. Giving each region but it is much more than that. It is a source of ideas, an equal number of seats was meant to prevent inspiration and legislation in its own right. the more populous provinces from overpowering the smaller ones. Parliament’s 105 senators shape Canada’s future. Senators scrutinize legislation, suggest improvements Over the years, the role of senators has evolved. and fix mistakes. In a two-chamber parliament, the Senate In addition to representing their region, they also acts as a check on the power of the prime minister and advocate for underrepresented groups like cabinet. Any bill must pass both houses — the Senate Indigenous peoples, visible and linguistic and the House of Commons — before it can become law. minorities, and women. There shall be one Parliament for Canada, consisting of the Queen, an Upper House styled the Senate, and the House of Commons. Constitution Act, 1867, section 17 3 HISTORY Canada would not exist were it not for the Senate.
    [Show full text]
  • National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan Will Provide Even Greater Opportunities for Canadians to Understand and Celebrate Our National Heritage
    PROUDLY BRINGING YOU CANADA AT ITS BEST National Historic Sites of Canada S YSTEM P LAN Parks Parcs Canada Canada 2 6 5 Identification of images on the front cover photo montage: 1 1. Lower Fort Garry 4 2. Inuksuk 3. Portia White 3 4. John McCrae 5. Jeanne Mance 6. Old Town Lunenburg © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, (2000) ISBN: 0-662-29189-1 Cat: R64-234/2000E Cette publication est aussi disponible en français www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca National Historic Sites of Canada S YSTEM P LAN Foreword Canadians take great pride in the people, places and events that shape our history and identify our country. We are inspired by the bravery of our soldiers at Normandy and moved by the words of John McCrae’s "In Flanders Fields." We are amazed at the vision of Louis-Joseph Papineau and Sir Wilfrid Laurier. We are enchanted by the paintings of Emily Carr and the writings of Lucy Maud Montgomery. We look back in awe at the wisdom of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier. We are moved to tears of joy by the humour of Stephen Leacock and tears of gratitude for the courage of Tecumseh. We hold in high regard the determination of Emily Murphy and Rev. Josiah Henson to overcome obstacles which stood in the way of their dreams. We give thanks for the work of the Victorian Order of Nurses and those who organ- ized the Underground Railroad. We think of those who suffered and died at Grosse Île in the dream of reaching a new home.
    [Show full text]
  • Alberta Hansard
    Province of Alberta The 29th Legislature Fourth Session Alberta Hansard Thursday afternoon, March 8, 2018 Day 1 The Honourable Robert E. Wanner, Speaker Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 29th Legislature Fourth Session Wanner, Hon. Robert E., Medicine Hat (NDP), Speaker Jabbour, Deborah C., Peace River (NDP), Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees Sweet, Heather, Edmonton-Manning (NDP), Deputy Chair of Committees Aheer, Leela Sharon, Chestermere-Rocky View (UCP), Loewen, Todd, Grande Prairie-Smoky (UCP) Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition Loyola, Rod, Edmonton-Ellerslie (NDP) Anderson, Hon. Shaye, Leduc-Beaumont (NDP) Luff, Robyn, Calgary-East (NDP) Anderson, Wayne, Highwood (UCP) Malkinson, Brian, Calgary-Currie (NDP) Babcock, Erin D., Stony Plain (NDP) Mason, Hon. Brian, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (NDP), Barnes, Drew, Cypress-Medicine Hat (UCP) Government House Leader Bilous, Hon. Deron, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview (NDP) McCuaig-Boyd, Hon. Margaret, Carlier, Hon. Oneil, Whitecourt-Ste. Anne (NDP) Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley (NDP) Carson, Jonathon, Edmonton-Meadowlark (NDP) McIver, Ric, Calgary-Hays (UCP), Ceci, Hon. Joe, Calgary-Fort (NDP) Official Opposition Whip Clark, Greg, Calgary-Elbow (AP), McKitrick, Annie, Sherwood Park (NDP) Alberta Party Opposition House Leader McLean, Hon. Stephanie V., Calgary-Varsity (NDP) Connolly, Michael R.D., Calgary-Hawkwood (NDP) McPherson, Karen M., Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill (AP) Coolahan, Craig, Calgary-Klein (NDP) Miller, Barb, Red Deer-South (NDP) Cooper, Nathan, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills (UCP) Miranda, Hon. Ricardo, Calgary-Cross (NDP) Cortes-Vargas, Estefania, Strathcona-Sherwood Park (NDP), Nielsen, Christian E., Edmonton-Decore (NDP) Government Whip Nixon, Jason, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre (UCP), Official Opposition House Leader Cyr, Scott J., Bonnyville-Cold Lake (UCP) Notley, Hon.
    [Show full text]
  • Debates of the Senate
    CANADA Debates of the Senate 2nd SESSION . 40th PARLIAMENT . VOLUME 146 . NUMBER 58 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Wednesday, October 7, 2009 ^ THE HONOURABLE NOËL A. KINSELLA SPEAKER CONTENTS (Daily index of proceedings appears at back of this issue). Debates Service: D'Arcy McPherson, Chambers Building, Room 943, Tel. 613-995-5756 Publications Centre: David Reeves, Chambers Building, Room 969, Tel. 613-947-0609 Published by the Senate Available from PWGSC ± Publishing and Depository Services, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0S5. Also available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1483 THE SENATE Wednesday, October 7, 2009 The Senate met at 1:30 p.m., the Speaker in the chair. The Xtending Hope Partnership is an initiative based at the Coady International Institute that works to help, develop and Prayers. support the people, governments and NGOs in Rwanda and Botswana as they deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Coady partnered with First Nations communities for the First Nations SENATORS' STATEMENTS At-Sea Mentoring Initiative, working to develop the technical skills of Aboriginal fishers working in the commercial inshore fishery. COADY INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE There are thousands of international graduates of the institute Hon. James S. Cowan (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable who return home and work directly to improve the lives of their senators, today I am delighted to pay tribute to an extraordinary fellow citizens, applying the many lessons learned at Coady to institution, the Coady International Institute at St. Francis help build a more just, secure and prosperous future. Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The institute also provides opportunities for young Canadians, The Coady Institute is celebrating its golden anniversary this helping recent university graduates work overseas on internships year.
    [Show full text]
  • Talking Pieces Version 2.Pdf (255.5Ko)
    Talking pieces: Political buttons and narratives of equal rights activism in Canada Talking pieces: Political buttons and narratives of equal rights activism in Canada Norda Majekodunmi “Individuals and organizations express themselves not just through the written and spoken word, but also through their interactions with their material world. The things that people throw away, the things they chose to keep, the gifts they give, the things they treasure – all of this material residue documents lives in ways that support, complement, extend and expand the written documentary record” (Jill Severn, Adventures in the Third Dimension, 2009: 221) Introduction Memory institutions, such as archives, are charged with collecting and preserving historical memories, stories and evidence often found in the form of textual documents. An archive’s ultimate goal is to ensure access to these memories for future generations. But, unfortunately, as suggested by Greene (2003), they are not neutral spaces; instead they privilege the stories and memories of the dominant society, often to the exclusion of marginalized and racialized groups. This practice results in inadequate representation of other social dimensions: race, gender and sexuality. The existence and accessibility of the Jean Augustine collection at the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collection at York University, however, is an example of a unique collection that counters this hegemony. This collection is comprised of both textual documents, photographs, artifacts and other evidence of the work and life of black, female Canadian political figure. The Honourable Jean Augustine is notable for being the first African-Canadian woman elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Canadian House of Commons (1993-2006) as well as the first such Cabinet Minister (Multiculturalism and Status of Women) under the Jean Chretien administration.
    [Show full text]
  • Moral Panics and Sexuality Discourse: the Oppression of Chinese Male Immigrants in Canada, 1900-1950
    Moral Panics and Sexuality Discourse: The Oppression of Chinese Male Immigrants in Canada, 1900-1950 Stephanie Weber Racial hierarchy in Canada between 1900 and 1950 shaped the way immigrant “others” were portrayed in White-Anglophone Canadian discourse. Crimes involving ethnic minorities were explained in racial and cultural terms that fed stereotypes and incited fears that served to marginalize and oppress minority groups, particularly people of colour.1 Chinese men, for instance, were targets of a racial and sexual othering that resulted in the distrust and oppression of this group. Moral and sexual threats posed by Chinese immigrants were part of an overarching fear of Chinese inGluence on white Canada known as the “Yellow Peril.” The myth of the Yellow Peril “interwove all of the predominant discourse” in the early twentieth century, encouraging and exacerbating “accusations of vice, gambling, interracial seduction, drug use, and other ‘moral offences’” against the Chinese in Canada.2 Racist perception of Chinese immigrant men in Canada helped to “shore up prevailing imperialist ideologies, marking out Asian societies as ‘backward’ and ‘primitive.’”3 As Constance Backhouse explains, Chinese immigrant men were perceived to have “inferior moral standards”4 and, like other men of colour, were believed to be “incapable of controlling their sexual desires.”5 Moral anxieties of this kind contributed to public support for racist legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, and other laws and regulations which served to limit the entry of Chinese persons into Canada and to socially and economically marginalize those already settled. As Stanley Cohen concludes in 1972’s Folk Devils and Moral Panics, a moral panic refers to when “a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become deGined as a threat to societal values and interests.”6 According to some 1 Franca Iacovetta, Gatekeepers,: Reshaping Immigrant Lives in Cold War Canada (Toronto: Between the Lines, 2006), 20.
    [Show full text]