UCFV invites the public to the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses on October 18 to celebrate the day when women became persons by definition. The Chilliwack event will be held from in the Library lobby (Building A of the Chilliwack campus). UCFV history professor Bonnie Huskins will speak on the historical relevance and context of Persons Day. A short skit, entertainment, and refreshments will follow her presentation. The Legal Education Action Fund will also be a part of the event. Admission is free.  

In Abbotsford, the event starts at 9:30 a.m. in room A225 with "Muffin and a Mystery in the Morning", a fundraiser for the Community Women's Centre at UCFV. Visitors can enjoy a fresh baked muffin and a thrilling hard cover mystery novel over coffee. Tickets are priced at $5 and are available at the Women's Centre and at Faculty Reception on the UCFV Abbotsford campus (604-504-7441, local 4255). The Legal Education and Action Fund, the Community Women's Centre and The Pride Network will also be a part of this event. At 12 noon, Chilliwack activist Jean Scott, honourary UCFV degree recipient, will speak in the Roadrunner Lounge (in front of room A215) about her unique experiences as a woman in Canada. There will be a reception to follow in room A229.  

Scott, 89, was born in 1912 and has witnessed huge gains by Canadian women in her lifetime. These include concrete milestones like the right to vote federally (1918), the first woman MP (1921), the recognition of women as persons (1929), the first woman senator (1930), and the first woman prime minister (1993). "The official recognition of women as persons was a wonderful event that created many new opportunities for Canadian women, and I'm delighted that we'll be celebrating it again this year”, says Scott. 

"Being officially recognized as persons was the culmination of a long fight for women's rights on the part of early feminists. They'd won the right to vote, and were surprised to find out they weren't officially persons, when looking into running for senate. To be a senator, you had to be a person,” explains UCFV history Professor Bonnie Huskins.  

In 1929, the Privy Council in England, at that time Canada’s highest court, responded to a petition by a group of five women (later known as the “Famous Five”) to reinterpret the British North America Act to include women in its definition of persons. The Famous Five included Emily Murphy, the first woman judge in the British Empire; Nellie McClung, the first woman member of the Alberta legislative assembly; Louise McKinney, a politician and temperance campaigner; Irene Parlby, a politician and women’s issues activist; and Henrietta Muir Edwards, a journalist and organizer. All were longtime activists on many issues relating to women’s rights.