A large crowd gathered at Olympic Plaza on Friday to mark the 95th anniversary of Persons Day — an annual commemoration of a historic legal decision considered to be a major leap forward in the fight for women’s equality in Canada, which has been mired in controversy in recent years.
Persons Day celebrations take place every year on Oct. 18 to commemorate a 1929 decision by Canada’s highest court that declared women to be full legal persons, allowing them to serve as senators. It is widely considered to have opened the doors to future advancements in the ability of all women to fully participate in Canadian society.
The Persons Case was pushed through Canadian courts by The Famous 5 — a group of five Alberta women long considered to be trailblazers for women’s rights in Canada, but who have become the subject of criticism over their treatment of racial minority groups.
The event was held in front of the Women are Persons monument at Olympic Plaza. The monument consists of large bronze statues of each member of the five — Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards.
The celebration was hosted by CTV journalist Teri Fikowski and featured performances by the Nellie McClung Elementary School Choir, along with speeches by several female government officials.
Indigenous artist, activist and knowledge-keeper Chantal Chagnon performed traditional songs throughout the celebration.
In an interview, Chagnon said that it’s important to remember that the Persons Case did not enshrine rights for all women, with Indigenous women not legally being declared full persons until the 1960s.
Her sentiments reflect the controversy around the annual event that celebrates a group of women who held beliefs that are widely considered to be unacceptable in today’s society.
The group’s members have been associated with the eugenics movement, supporting laws that led to the forced sterilization of thousands, including a disproportionate number of Indigenous women.
Chagnon says systematic oppression against women, especially Indigenous women, continues today.
“We don’t see a lot of women who are in CEO positions or in governmental positions, but slowly . . . we’re starting to see more and more. That has to continue.”
Denise Kokaram says she tries to attend the event every year, calling it “a very important event for women” that provides a reminder of how far women have come.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Famous 5, Kokaram says raising awareness about the milestone is important to understanding where her rights came from.
“We need to raise the awareness of our history in all aspects . . . the bad and the ugly. I think it’s still all important.”
Kokaram is the chief operating officer of Nation’s Dental, and says the push for gender equality is ongoing.
“It’s very important that we acknowledge the people who have done that and support all of the endeavours to keep that alive and keep that knowledge alive, especially for our younger generations.”
“It’s important to remind women . . . that we bring to the table different attributes that actually are very powerful.”
Speakers at the event included Sen. Karen Sorensen, Conservative MP Marci Ien, MLA Tanya Fir and Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
The Persons Case, also known as Edwards v. Canada, was a landmark constitutional case that challenged Canadian laws that did not recognize women as persons in the legal sense of the word.
Before 1929, Canada’s Constitution dictated that only men could be appointed to the Senate as they were considered “qualified persons.”
The Supreme Court of Canada initially ruled that women were not “qualified persons,” but that decision was overturned on Oct. 18, 1929, after the Famous 5 appealed to the judicial committee of the Privy Council, Canada’s court of last resort at the time.
Friday’s event was organized by the Famous 5 Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to “empower women and girls to courageously lead change that contributes to a society without boundaries for women.”
A section of the foundation’s website is devoted to outlining the “flawed beliefs” held by the five women.
“We regret the statements and actions of the F5 which were racist and elitist, and believe that if the F5 were alive today, they would apologize for such matters and work toward greater equality and diversity,” the foundations website reads.
“The Famous 5 did not know what we know now.”
The monument was designed by Indigenous sculptor Barbara Paterson, and was originally installed to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Persons Case verdict. At the time of its installation, it was part of the largest public art project in Canada — designed and funded entirely by women, the Famous 5 Foundation said in a news release.
— With files from Scott Strasser