The "Famous Five" statues were moved from the grounds of the Canadian Parliament to the Senate building just down the street in Ottawa, Ontario. I took these pictures at the new location during Winterlude in February 2025. We need to remember that less than 100 years ago, federal law in this country considered only men to be persons. Persons Day commemorates the recognition of women as persons under Canadian federal law.
In 1927, the Famous Five asked the Supreme Court of Canada if women were persons. After five weeks of debate, the court decided that the word "persons" did not apply to women. Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung*, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, and Henrietta Muir Edwards appealed their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, and on October 18, 1929, Lord Sankey handed down the ruling in Edwards v. Canada, declaring that women were indeed "persons".
I know Grandma Devins would remind me of this today if she were here. She championed women's rights throughout her life and made sure I knew the names and stories of the women who worked for gender equality. She would want her descendants to know our history too.
Indigenous women and women of Asian descent were not included in the 1929 ruling. Racial exclusions for Asian Canadians were removed in 1948, and it was not until 1985 that Indigenous women were granted full identity and personhood. (Bill C-31)
It is important to protect and advance gender and racial equality in a time when some would want to reverse historical gains. The United Nations warns that in the past 50 years, there has been a regression in women's rights in at least 25% of the world due to democracy losses, armed conflicts, and extreme fundamentalist political movements.
Our municipal elections are a week away, and men and women are well represented on the local ballot. These elections are not very exciting, and voter turnout tends to be low. I researched the candidates for school board, regional council, city council and mayor and tried to select an equal number of qualified women and men for the multiple available positions. I value our democracy and my right to vote. We need the voices of women, men and minorities in our municipalities, provinces and country. And we must be diligent in challenging injustice and preventing the erosion of hard-earned democratic rights.
"It is strange about Time. One day...there was plenty of time, days and days, running in and out, thousands of them. Then all at once some place there jangled a warning bell...
I have seen my country emerge from obscurity into one of the great nations of the world. I have seen strange things come to pass in the short span of one lifetime, and I hasten to set it down while the light holds.
People must know the past to understand the present and to face the future."
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