Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/988313
Heritage Matters 12 The Honourable Jean Augustine's office. looking at the whole issue of violence against women. They were concerned about what was happening to women when there were no rules, no police procedures and the court system when women approached judges. I had that sense of service: Look to see where others are, look to see what is important to do, participate in community because it was essential. It was easy to see a place for myself among those groups trying to make change. And, of course, when 1982 came around and we were amending the Constitution and women were left out of that discussion, and all those who organized around that – again, I was on that bandwagon saying: "How about us? How about a section that would deal with the issues as they pertain to women?" I could not be a bystander. I was always in the midst of trying to make things happen. BH: You've seen some remarkable changes. How do you think we're doing as women? JA: I think Canada is a great country. We have some of the brightest and the best, and we're recognizing those brightest and best as women. But it's not perfect yet. There are still many issues that we have to deal with. We have to strategize on how to deal with anti-Black discrimination so we're not excluded from the rooms where decisions are made. We have the right legal structures and policy direction. What we need is to have full implementation of all those things that we have on the books. BH: How do you see our society shifting in the next five years? JA: It seems to me that we're on the right track and we're heading more toward what we want to speak of as "equality." I think, in another five years, we're working again at the