Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/988313
Heritage Matters 5 National Action Commitee on the Status of Women 50th anniversary medallion. Appointment to the Canadian Senate was a significant issue. Until 1929, the government had argued that the power to "summon qualified Persons to the Senate" did not include women. In 1927, Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards sought clarification from the Supreme Court of Canada as to whether the word "persons" in Section 24 of the British North America Act (1867) included "female persons." The five male justices of the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously voted that it did not. The question was decided differently by the Privy Council of Great Britain in a case known legally as Edwards v. Attorney General of Canada, and more broadly as the Persons Case. When Lord Sankey, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, announced their decision on October 18, 1929, he stated: "... to those who ask why the word [persons] should include females the obvious answer is why should it not?" Prime Minister Mackenzie King appointed Cairine Wilson of Ottawa to the Senate in 1930. Twenty- three years passed before two more women were appointed to the Senate – Murial McQueen Fergusson and Nancy Hodges. The Royal Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Florence Bird, released its report in 1970. Its responsibility was to "inquire into … the status of women in Canada … to ensure for women equal opportunities with men in all aspects of Canadian society." Among its conclusions: "The last 50 years, since woman suffrage was introduced, have seen no appreciable change in the political activities of women beyond the exercise of the right to vote. In the decision-making positions, and most conspicuously in the government and Parliament of Canada, the presence of a mere handful of women is no more than a token acknowledgement of their right to be there. The voice of government is still a man's voice. The formulation of policies affecting the lives of all Canadians is still the prerogative of men." Following the work of the National Action Committee, the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women was created in 1973 and, in the ensuing seven years, published studies, briefs and comments on such topics as human rights, criminal law, federal appointments and the rights of Indigenous women. "For far too long women, especially Indigenous women, have not been at the decision making table. I cannot sit back anymore and wait for someone to come along. The future is female and the future is Indigenous. Now is my time to make a difference." Equal Voice's Daughters of the Vote – Ally Freedman, representing Ottawa Centre