Equality and the Supreme Court of Canada Topic of Address
STATUS OF WOMEN--Equality and the Supreme Court of Canada Topic of Address
Canada's Chief Justice will speak about women in the judiciary and what women bring to judging on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.
Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, will deliver the inaugural Agnes Dennis Lecture to mark the 75th Person's Day in Canada and the 100th anniversary of the Local Council House on Young Avenue, home of the Local Council of Women of Halifax. The lecture is co-sponsored by the local council and Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. There is no charge to attend.
"Women's History Month and this lecture allows us to reflect on how the changes in our grandmothers' lives affect our lives and the lives of women who follow us," said Doreen Paris, advisory council chair. "Women are making progress, slowly, but surely, and this lecture will reflect that reality."
On Person's Day, Oct. 18, 1929, a British Privy Council decision recognized women as "persons qualified" for appointment to the Senate. However, newspapers of the day declared that women had been deemed "persons," with rights under the law. This declaration led women in Canada to question their roles in society, including their role as participants in public life.
"The perfect way to celebrate Women's History Month and the 75th anniversary of Person's Day is to vote, and the upcoming municipal election gives us that opportunity," said Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, minister responsible for the Status of Women. "I encourage every woman in the province to make her voice heard on the important issues facing Nova Scotia communities."
The advisory council is also celebrating Women's History Month with The Women's Place Women's Resource Centre on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at the resource centre in Cornwallis Park, Annapolis Co. Guests will hear a panel discussion and a recording of Nellie McClung's broadcast, Women Become Persons, originally aired Oct. 18, 1929.
Canadians continue to mark Women's History Month because it shows how far women in Canada have come, and how long the journey has been. Women around the world still have many more miles to go before they have achieved real equality with men.
The Agnes Dennis Lecture will take place in the Sobey Conference Theatre at Saint Mary's University, 923 Robie St., Halifax.
"The Local Council of Women of Halifax is proud to be able to celebrate two significant occasions with such an auspicious event," said Leela Pachai, president of the Local Council of Women of Halifax. "Working with the advisory council has given both organizations opportunities to bring the concerns of women forward in new ways."
The advisory council and the Halifax Local Council of Women of Halifax plan to present a lecture each year honouring a distinguished figure in women's history, such as Agnes Dennis, who has been called a "feminist superstar." The wife of newspaper publisher William Dennis, she was a founding member of the Local Council of Women of Halifax and a leader of the Red Cross and other community organizations during the first part of the 20th century.
In Digby:<br x='1'/>
Joy Warner
Advisory Council on the Status of Women
902-245-2901
E-mail: warnerja@gov.ns.ca