THE PERSONS CASE
Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the Persons Case:
In March of 1928, a case was brought before the Supreme Court of Canada. The official name of the, Edwards vs. The Attorney General of Canada, has been replaced by its more infamous moniker––“The Persons Case.” The issue at hand was whether or not the term “persons” as used in the British North America Act of 1867 (Canada’s Constitution) referred to women as well. In particular was section 24, which dealt with senatorial positions but also was seen as grounding for all public office. The section stated that:
“The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in the Queen’s Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada, summon qualified Persons to the Sen- ate; and, subject to the Provisions of this Act, every Person so summoned shall be- come and be a Member of the Senate and a Senator.” (Constitution)
The women who brought this forward were already well-known and established social activists by this stage in their lives. They would come to be known as the “Famous Five” and they were: Henrietta Muir Edwards (1849–1931), Nellie McClung (1875–1951), Louis McKinney (1868–1931), Emily Murphy (1868–1933), Irene Parlby (1868–1965). The Supreme Court of Canada would ultimately rule in the negative, leading to one B.C. MLA to state: “The iron dropped into the souls of women in Canada when we heard that it took a man to decree that his mother was not a person.”Yet, the women and their allies did not capitulate. They brought their case to the highest possible court available to them: The Privy Council, the highest court in the British Empire. On October 18, 1929, the Privy Council ruling on behalf of the women recognized the identity of the female person within the British North American Act (BNA Act). This was significant victory for women and their supports, setting a potentially powerful precedence. (White, 1999)