Obituaries Stamp collector honours unforgettable Canadian women
Zwicker, David Gordon
With Canada’s 150th birthday fast approaching, now may just be the perfect time to brush up on your Canadian history.
If you’re looking to learn a thing or two about the extraordinary women who have helped shape our country, Bridgetown’s Bill Hamilton and his stamp collection have you covered.
Today, women make up just over half of the population of Canada. We are, and have been, politicians, doctors, artists, mothers, astronauts, teachers, business owners, and the list goes on. However, about 90 years ago, women weren’t even considered persons under Canadian law. Women have faced their fair share of adversity in Canada, but despite the challenges, many have managed to rise up, make a name for themselves, leave a lasting impression on the country, and of course, get their image on a postage stamp.
Three years ago, Bill Hamilton took up the project of collecting all of the Canadian stamps that featured women. He used Girl Guide Leader Dawn Monroe’s Famous Canadian Women website as a reference and template, and when he was finished, he compiled the stamps into three separate binders, and gave one to each of his three granddaughters. her charges in court, standing up against racial prejudices in our country. Carrie Best, another Nova Scotian who was the co-founder of the first black-owned and operated Nova Scotian newspaper, broke Viola’s story, and is also featured on a stamp.
You might even recognize one name from your lunchbox! Rose-anna Vachon, who convinced her husband to help her start up a bakery outside Quebec, is the original baker of Canada’s iconic treat Joelouis, named after her two sons Joseph and Louis. When her husband died young, Roseanna Vachon took over and continued expanding their business. Vachon is a huge Canadian business even still today. under Canadian law in 1929. These women included Emily Murphy, Louise Mckinney, Nellie Mcclung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, and Irene Parlby. Out of the five women who make up the “Valiant Five” only Irene Parlby isn’t featured on a stamp.
The Persons Case refers to what is known as the Edwards vs. Canada case. This was started when a lawyer challenged Emily Murphy’s right to preside as a judge over a court case, on the grounds that women were not considered persons under the 1867 British North America Act.
This, as Bill Hamilton puts it, “kicked the hornet’s nest” and started Emily Murphy’s mission. Years later, after being refused the position of a senator as well, due to the British North America Act, Emily Murphy gathered together four other prominent women, and they took it to Ottawa, and lost. Privy Council. The ruling that women were persons was given on October 29, 1929, forever changing Canada for future generations.
Bill has his own opinion on why the Valiant Five, Viola Desmond, Carrie Best, and women like them, have been so successful in challenging oppression. “I think they had a sense of what was right, and it didn’t matter, they would fight for it.”
Educating ourselves about Canada’s past is a great way to inspire pride in our home, but also to remind us of just how far we’ve come as a society. There have been amazing women in this country, for whom we should be grateful, but also from whom we should draw inspiration to change and challenge wrongs in the present, and forever try to make Canada an even greater place to live than it is now. like us on facebook facebook.com/pages/ annapoliscountyspectator