The Persons Case

by Sharpe, Robert Joel; McMahon, Patricia I.

• ISBN13: 9780802096289
• ISBN10: 080209628X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-12
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

On 18 October 1929, John Sankey, England's reform-minded Lord Chancellor, ruled in the Persons case that women were eligible for appointment to Canada's Senate. Initiated by Edmonton judge Emily Murphy and four other activist women, the Persons case challenged the exclusion of women from Canada's upper house and the idea that the meaning of the constitution could not change with time. The Persons Case considers the case in its political and social context and examines the lives of the key players - Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, and the other members of the 'famous five,' the politicians who opposed the appointment of women, the lawyers who argued the case, and the judges who decided it.Robert J. Sharpe and Patricia I. McMahon examine the Persons case as a pivotal moment in the struggle for women's rights and as one of the most important constitutional decisions in Canadian history. Lord Sankey's decision overruled the Supreme Court of Canada's judgment that the courts could not depart from the original intent of the framers of Canada's constitution in 1867. Describing the constitution as a 'living tree,' the decision led to a reassessment of the nature of the constitution itself. After the Persons case, it could no longer be viewed as fixed and unalterable, but had to be treated as a document that, in the words of Sankey, was in 'a continuous process of evolution.'The Persons Case is a comprehensive study of this important event, examining the case itself, the ruling of the Privy Council, and the profound affect that it had on women's rights and the constitutional history of Canada.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction: 'A Relic of Days More Barbarous Than Ours'	p. 3
First of the Five	p. 16
The Other Four	p. 37
Women and the Law: The Trials of Legal Personhood	p. 59
Emily Murphy's Senate Campaign	p. 74
Going to Court	p. 104
The Supreme Court of Canada Decides	p. 127
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Canadian Constitution	p. 142
Waiting to Be Heard	p. 154
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Decides	p. 173
The Political, Cultural, and Legal Legacy of the Persons Case	p. 189
Notes	p. 207
Archival Sources	p. 249
Facsimile of the Amended Petition	p. 251
Illustration Credits	p. 253
Index	p. 255
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