Greetings and Salutations!
My Name is Vivienne. I am on a 3 year mission to unite women around the globe. I want to educate the young and reeducate the old. I want to unite us as One Race, with many colours and styles. We are women. We need to celebrate our accomplishments and invite men to unite and celebrate with us. To do this I thought it apropos to start at home. Women around the world have been oppressed for centuries, many of us are still oppressed in one form or other today.
This is probably the point where I should warn you if you read much further my word choice, at times may, incite rather strong reactions; some positive and others not so positive. (Wow that sounds so Canadian.) I do not plan on being quite that “PC” throughout this blog. I am not completely sure how this will all layout, but for now I will be researching and spotlighting one woman every week who helped shape Canada as we know her today. Anything more at this point will be opinion/exposition pieces about whatever tickles my fancy or ignites passionate prose.
Well now that I have that disclaimer out of the way lets move on to the meat of the matter!
Something that struck me odd was the lack of Public attention paid to the 100th anniversary of Women winning the right to vote in the prairie provinces. It may have only been provincial but, it was a Very big step to liberty for women across Canada. It sent a message that change was eminent. So why then, did I hear nothing about such an important date in Women’s history, Canadian history?
Were there any parades commemorating January 28, 1916 in Manitoba? How about March 14, 1916 in Saskatchewan or April 19th in Alberta? Bill 210 THE CENTENNIAL OF MANITOBA WOMEN’S RIGHT TO VOTE ACT I did not realize we needed a “Bill” to proclaim the Centennial of Manitoba Women’s Right to Vote to be January 28, 2016, is that not simple
math? Anyone over the age of 6 can surely count to one-hundred. Instead of quietly passing a bill why not proclaim it as a provincial holiday? And then splash said proclamation all over media of every type, and a parade to celebrate. We may not have gotten a parade, but we did get a Loonie according to an article published by the Winnipeg Free Press on January 6, 2016. Commemorative loonie to be issued celebrating women’s right to vote
Saskatchewan was pretty quiet about the whole thing too. In all honesty I never heard a thing. The truth of the matter is there were events scheduled in all three provinces, but you had to look for them intentionally. Alberta had a few events if you looked hard enough, the Okotoks museum had a temporary exhibit called ‘Pink Tea’. At the Parliament building in Edmonton Minister Mclean marked the anniversary with a statement and then a new ‘replica’ photo was taken. I think that was pretty cool. In another 100 years it would be neat if they did it again.
I almost feel like the indifference the suffragettes faced by members of government is still present 100 years later. Do you recall seeing any advertising campaigns on the television or in your social media? If you are not an avid news paper reader you may have missed the few articles quietly written throughout the year. There were a few bits on the evening news but not much else was said. When I ask individuals on the street, “When did women win the right to vote in Canada?” not one thus far has been able to answer correctly. This is truly sad. I learned about Nellie McClung in grade four. I never forgot her. So why have so many forgotten Women’s Suffrage?
I can not claim to know the answer, but I do know what I see is a laissez-faire attitude amongst the younger individuals I speak to on this subject. This is why I have started this blog. I need to attempt to do my part to educate and inspire individuals across Canada and eventually around the world to never forget. Without women we would cease to exist as a race. The Human Race.
Please follow my blog and share it with anyone and everyone that you can. I promise you, you will learn something new at some point if you haven’t already. Every week there will be a new article focusing on an individual (at this time mostly women, but don’t worry there were plenty of men too) and what she did to help shape Canada into the Humanitarian country it is today. Join me on this incredible journey. Let’s resurrect the past to ensure a bright future for all.
P.S. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions. If you know of a Canadian you think I should put in the spotlight, famous or not, email me at Vivi Speaks.
Vivi Speaks 