ABOUT US
Famous 5 Ottawa - a volunteer group - was instrumental in persuading the government to place the Women Are Persons! Monument on Parliament Hill to commemorate the efforts of Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Louise McKinney. They also worked to ensure the current $50 bill recognizes women as Nation Builders.
Famous 5 Ottawa Core Committee 2011-2012
| Chair | Isabel Metcalfe |
| Vice Chair | Trish Dechman |
| Treasurer | Mary Jessop |
| Secretary | Leah Miller |
| Communications | Sarah Bain |
| Selection/Criteria | Beatrice Keleher Raffoul |
| Outreach | Susan Murray/ Crystal Gillis |
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The Persons Case
"Women are persons in matters of pains and penalties, but not in matters of rights and privileges." - 1876 British Common Law
Emily Murphy, as the first female magistrate in the British Empire wanted to be the first female Senator in Canada. She was prohibited because she was not considered a "person" under the British North America Act. The Supreme Court of Canada rejected her case in 1928, prompting a group of women from Alberta to seek a decision from the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council who decided in favour of women on October 18, 1929. These courageous women from Alberta came to be known as the Famous 5 and October 18 became recognized as Persons Day in Canada.
The Persons Case became a legal history milestone in Canada because it began the long and vitally important Canadian struggle to amend the British North America Act, setting the stage for the concept that a constitution could be regarded as "a living tree" and therefore subject to change. The important consideration to enable women to hold office in the Senate, a struggle even today, also allowed Senate reform to be on the agenda of the 1927 federal provincial conference. The Famous 5 are the only Canadians that have successfully reformed the Senate of Canada.
Emily Murphy died in 1933 without ever being appointed to the position for which she had fought so hard.
Norton Rose Mentorship Program
October 2011 will launch the Norton Rose Mentorship Program, providing an opportunity for young women to gain experience in public speaking. Famous 5 Ottawa believes that young women should be at the front of the room speaking and not at the back of the room organizing. The international law practice, Norton Rose OR LLP, is supporting the opportunity for women to be mentored, coached and supported in public speaking.
Henrietta Muir Edwards (1849-1933), journalist, suffragette and organizer, fought for equal rights for wives, for mothers’ allowances and women’s rights. She started the Working Girls’ Association, a forerunner of the YWCA, in Montréal in 1875. Later, while living in Alberta, she compiled two works on provincial and federal laws affecting women and children. "This decision [the Person's Case] marks the abolition of sex in politics. . . . Personally I do not care whether or not women ever sit in the Senate, but we fought for the privilege for them to do so. We sought to establish the personal individuality of women and this decision is the announcement of our victory. It has been an up-hill fight."-Henrietta Muir Edwards |