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Persons Case Essay Example

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Persons Case Essay Example
The Person’s Case was a defining moment in Canadian history because; Canadian women were finally considered persons; women could own property in their name without a man; and there was now a little bit of equality between men and women.
Canadian women were finally considered persons because of five women from Alberta who took the case as high as the British Privy Council to make women legally persons [1].
Women are not "qualified persons" within the meaning of section 24 of the B.N.A. Act, 1867, and therefore are not eligible for appointment by the Governor General to the Senate of Canada [2].

Considered persons
• No longer second class citizens
• Could affect change
Own property
• Independent of men
Equality
• Woman’s voice could be heard
- Women were allowed to vote and elected to office but not be in Senate
- Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Irene Parlby = FAMOUS FIVE
- First women senator = Carrie Wilson (Baldwin, D and P. Canada through the Decades: The 1920’s. Calgary: Weigl Education Publishers, 2000.)

- Women’s groups all around Canada wished women could be allowed on senate
- They brought it to the British Privy Council
- At first voted no then in final vote to was yes (Black, N. “Persons Case.” The Oxford Companion to Canadian History. Ed. Gerald Hallowell. Canada: Oxford University Press, 2004.)

-The law was passed on October 18th 1929 however Emily Murphy had been trying since 1921 (James, D. The Canadians: Emily Murphy. Don Mills: Fitzhenery & Whiteside Limited. 1977.)

1. McCaw, Jill. The Persons Case. Historica. 15th September 2002. 11th December 2010 http://www.histori.ca/peace/page.do?pageID=276
2. Dawson, T. Brettel, British North America Act 1867 Section 24. Carlton University. 15th September 2002. 10th December 2010.
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