Do you know an amazing Ontario champion for women?







(NC) --  Since 1979, Governors General of Canada have recognized outstanding individuals from every region of Canada for their courage, integrity and hard work in creating lasting, positive change for Canadian women, their families and their communities.

One of the 2013 recipients of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case was Constance Backhouse, a Law Professor at the University of Ottawa who has helped generations of students understand the roots of discrimination on the basis of race, gender and inequality. As Canada's pre-eminent feminist legal historian, Backhouse focuses her scholarly work on telling stories of women and other oppressed groups, exposing inequalities, promoting understanding and facilitating change. She has helped establish and served in a large number of women's organizations and projects, including the Women's Education and Research Foundation, (co-founder), the London Battered Women's Advocacy Clinic, and the Feminist History Society (co-founder).

Backhouse was one of five Canadian women to receive the Persons Case Award, named in honour of Alberta's Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards, who fought for Canadian women to be legally recognized as persons. Women couldn't serve in the Senate because they weren't officially recognized as persons. After taking their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, United Kingdom, the Famous Five finally won and on Oct. 18, 1929, Canadian women were officially recognized as persons.

If you know someone like Backhouse who has created lasting, positive change for women, their families and their communities in Ontario or anywhere in Canada, put forward a nomination today. The deadline for this year's awards is June 20, 2014 but nominations are accepted throughout the year.

The jury for the Persons Case Awards is an independent body. The awards are presented each year in October by the Governor General. More information about the awards is available at www.women.gc.ca.


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