Friday, October 18, 2013

84 Years Today Since Women Were Declared "People" In Canada

It's 84 years today since women were first legally recognized as "people under" Canadian law.

The court case fought by the so-called Famous Five--Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Irene Parlby--is now one of the most famous court cases in Canadian history.


In fact, a lesser-known persons case happened in New Brunswicker two decades earlier. The first woman in NB  to graduate from law school, Mabel French, was refused to admission to the bar 1905. Legislation in 1906 that finally allowed women to practice law in New Brunswick.