From Home to House: Women in the BC Legislature CONNIE CARTER EILEEN DAOUST MLA Mary Ellen Smith Helen Douglas Smith Dorothy Steeves Laura Jamieson Grace Macinnis Nancy Hodges Tilly Jean Rolston Lydia Arsens Buda Brown Lois Haggen Camille Mather Margaret Hobbs Eileen Dailly Grace McCarthy Patricia Jordan Isabel Dawson Agnes Kripps Karen Sanford Phyllis Young Daisy Webster Rosemary Brown Barbara Wallace Rita Johnston First Elected 1918 1933 1934 1939 1941 1941 1941 1953 1956 1956 1960 1962 1966 1966 1966 1966 1969 1972 1972 1972 1972 1975 1983 Party Liberal Liberal CCF CCF CCF/NDP Liberal Conservative/ Social Credit Social Credit Social Credit CCF/NDP CCF/NDP CCF/NDP NOP Social Credit Social Credit Social Credit Social Credit NOP NDP NDP NOP NDP Social Credit Barbara K. Latham and Roberta J. Pazdro, Eds., Not Just Pin Money Victoria: Camosun College, 1984 " I, I 390 Women MLAs Arsens, Lydia Social Credit (Victoria) 1953-1956; b. March 18, 1906, Didsbury, Alberta; fa. Alexander Lammie; mo. b. Emma Jordan; hus. James Arsens (restaurateur); mar. 1942; d. February 25, 1983, Victoria, BC; United Church. m C') N Ed: Calgary Normal School. Employment: teacher, nine years in Alberta. Founder of the first PT A in Alberta. Coowner, Majorette Coffeeshop, Victoria. Mem: Women's Canadian Club; Local Council of Women; YWCA; Colfax Rebekah Lodge 1, lO0F. Secretary to the first Social Credit group in Victoria (1951). cr, r-- Elected BC MLA g.e. J953; defeated I 956. Concerned with health issues: opposed fluoridation of water and <( CL pasteurization of milk; opposed Party's Milk Act of 1956; opposed to liquor and tobacco; proposed a natural cancer cure ( 1956). Supported Bill 20 (1953), an Equal Pay Act, but was opposed to the establishment of a separate Women's Bureau; favoured government-sponsored classes in housework for women; urged increases in old age pensions. Mem. Select Standing Committees: social welfare and education, public accounts, municipal matters, agriculture and labour. ""u OJ BC Journals 1954-1956*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1954; Victoria Daily Colonist, 18 March 1954: 22; Victoria Daily Colonist, 12 Jan. 1956: 14; Vancouver Daily Province, 4 May 1955: 16; Vancouver Province, 28 July 1971: I; Vancouver Sun, 19 March 1956: 2; Vancouver Sun, 9 Feb. 1972: 80; Victoria Times-Colonist, I March 1983: D2. Brown, Buda Hosmer Social Credit (Vancouver-Point Grey) 1956-1962; mother, politician; b. June JO, 1894, Bellingham, Washington; fa. Will D. Jenkins; mo. b. Mamie Hosmer; hus. Donald C. Brown, (BC MLA, PC, 1945-1953); mar. 1919; one son; d. August 12, 1962, Vancouver; United Church. Employment: teacher, Wash. state; came to Canada (1916); WW II chairwoman of Vancouver United Services Hospitality Centre. Mem: pres. United Church Home for Girls; director, Vancouver Girls' Club; Commissioner of Vancouver Traffic and Safety Council; Women's Canadian Club; hon. mem. National Council of Women; life mem. Vancouver Council of Women. First ran for House of Commons as PC, VancouverBurrard (1953), defeated. Joined Social Credit Party (1954). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1956; re-elected Sept. 1960. Min. without Portfolio (1960). Main concerns: traffic safety and penal reform. Advocated: discipline and harsher punishments for young offenders; suggested stiffer penalties for drunk drivers; compulsory car insurance; compulsory car testing and high school driving classes; youth welfare programs; employment of paraplegics; penal rehabilitation, including improved quarters for women at Okalla Prison. Mem. Select Standing Committees: social welfare and education, municipal matters, public accounts and printing, and standing orders and private bills. Carter & Daoust 391 BC Journals 1957-1962*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1962; Victoria Daily Colonist, 20 Feb. 1958: l; Vancouver Daily Province, 20 Feb. 1958: 8; Vancouver Province, 29 Nov. 1960: l; Vancouver Province 13 Aug. 1962: 1,2; Vancouver Sun, 19 Feb. 1960: 49; Vancouver Sun, 13 Aug. 1962: 8. Brown, Rosemary NDP (Burnaby-Edmonds) 1972- ; social worker, mother, counsellor, politician; b. June 17, 1930, Jamaica, West Indies;fa. Ralph Wedderburn; mo. b. Enid James; hus. William Theophlus Brown (psychiatrist); one daughter, two sons. Ed: McGill University (BA, 1955); UBC (MSW, 1963). Came to Canada (1950). Employment: social worker, Children's Aid of Vancouver, Riverview Mental Hosp., .~ Vancouver Neurological Society, Montreal Children's 9 g Hosp.; counsellor, SFU. Mem: BC Assn. for the > Advancement of Coloured People; National Black ,ii :, 0 Coalition for Canada; volunteer, Black Community :, Centre, Montreal (1955); regional rep. BC National (.) "' 0.. Black Coalition of Canada (1969-1972); founding mem. 0 z Status of Women Council, BC and its first ombudswoman (1972); founding mem. Vancouver Crisis and Suicide Prevention Society. Awarded UN Human Rights Fellowship (1972); recipient, National Black Award for outstanding work on behalf of minority groups in Canada (1974); led Canadian delegation to FEST AC, the world Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos, Nigeria (1977); awarded Queen's Commemorative Medal (1977); received honourary doctorate, Human Letters, Mt. St. Vincent Univ. Halifax (1981); Vane. Univ. Women's Club; received award for her contribution to the ethnocultural community of Victoria, BC, from the Inter-Cultural Assn. of Greater Victoria ( 1984). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1972 (Vancouver-Burrard, eliminated 1978 by re-distribution); re-elected g.e. 1975, 1979 and 1983 (Burnaby-Edmonds). First black woman elected to a Legislature in Canada. Chaired the Select Standing Committee on health, education and human resources. Mem. Select Standing Committees: municipal affairs, assessment and property taxation, labour and justice. Worked to oppose the oppression of unorganized and unprotected agricultural and domestic workers ( 19721975); federal leadership candidate of the NDP, defeated after fourth ballot but polled forty-two percent of the vote (197 5); Opposition critic for human resources; led fight to save the Vancouver Resources Board ( 1982); Opposition critic for AttorneyGeneral (1983); instrumental in advancing private mem. bills on wrongful dismissal, community property. Introduced four bills: Bill 75 (no single parent, senior citizen, low-income family or unemployed can be evicted without alternative accommodations being found); Bill 117 (Tenants Collective Bargaining Rights Act, for collective bargaining with landlord); Bill 37 (Affirmative Action Plan Act, to require corporation and government departments to take affirmative action to ensure women get the jobs, promotions and pay to which they are entitled); Bill M216 (Prevention of Sexual Harassment). Authorized biography, NDP Caucus office, July 1984; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1982-83; Canadian Women Studies Journal: Politics, vol. 2, no. 4, 1980; Chatelaine, May 1978: vol. 51: 5; Jan Gould, Women of BC; Parliamentary Debates 1981; Vancouver Sun, 19 Feb. 1975: 24, 23 July, 1975: 5; Victoria Daily Times, 3 May 1975: 5. 111 ,,, 392 Women MLAs Dailly, Eileen Elizabeth NDP (Burnaby-North) 1966-; teacher, school trustee, mother, politician; b. Feb. 15, 1926, Vancouver BC;fa. John Gilmore; mo. b. Mary A. Scott;former hus. James Dailly (fireman); mar. 1951; one son; Protestant. ·t"' t5 > Ed: John Oliver High School and Vancouver Normal School. Employment: elementary school teacher ( 12 yrs); school trustee (1956). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1966; re-elected 1969, 1972, 1975, 1979, and 1983. Opposition critic for education; ui :::, u provincial secretary (6 years); Deputy Premier and acting :::, pres. of executive council (1972); Min. of Education (_) "' a_ (1972-1975); second woman to hold a Cabinet portfolio; 0 z caucus cnt1c for health. Mem. Select Standing Committees: social welfare, education and agriculture (1967-1972). Initiated legislation enabling girls to act as pages in Legislature ( 1969); introduced Bill 173 (The Public Schools Interim Arbitration Procedures Act), bargaining for teachers and trustees on local level instead of regional basis; established universal kindergartens; expanded community college system; founded a task force on sexism in school texts; created position of Dir. of Indian Education; instrumental in banning use of strap in BC schools; chairwoman of Union Boards of Health for BC and Metropolitan Health Board; chairwoman and acting pres. Council of Min. of Education of Canada ( 1975); ten year service award, BC School Trustee Assn. Authorized biography, N DP Caucus office, 1984; BC Journals 1967-1972*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1981; Chatelaine, May 1978, vol. 51: 5; Jan Gould, Women of BC; Personal Correspondence, July 1984; Vancouver Province, 22 Sept. 1972: 5; Victoria Daily Times 27 Sept. 1972: 9; Daisy Webster, ADD. MSS., Provincial Archives of BC; White Rock & Surrey Sun, 23 Nov. 1972: 9A; Who's Who in BC (1969). Dawson, Isabel Pearl Social Credit (Mackenzie) 19661972; mail carrier, mother, politician; b. Oct. 13, 1917, Camrose, Alberta;fa. J.D. Saunders; mo. b. Ruth Hart; hus. Charles John Dawson; mar. 1941; one son; d. 1982, Victoria, BC; United Church. Ed: Assoc. Arts Diploma in gerontology, Camosun College ( 1975); Univ. of Victoria (BA, psychology); Univ. Oregon (MS, 1982). Resident of BC since 1933; moved to Powell River, BC (1946); Victoria, BC (1974). Mem: past Noble Grand of Rebekah Lodge; past pres. Legion ~ Auxiliary (2 yrs); sec. Sr. Citizens Home Soc.; sec. Powell ?B River Centennial Committee; Girl Guide Leader; CGIT; ~ Officer-in-charge Air Cadettes; Lieut. (Can. Engineers) a; CWAC (3½ yrs); named "Good Citizen," Powell River 'r5: (1962); hon. Chief of Tribal Councils ofTsawatineuk and Bella Coola Tribes ( 1969); BC Cultural Committee; counsellor service for Sr. Citizens; counsellor at Camosun College; sec. Malaspina Sr. Citizen Home Soc.; sec. Odd Fellows Hall; Eastern Star. Isabel Dawson Bldg. at Camosun College, Victoria, is named in her memory. Carter & Daoust 393 Worked for Social Credit Party (1952); contested BC g.e. 1963 and lost; pres. Mackenzie riding Social Credit League (7 yrs); vice-pres. BC Social Credit League (3 yrs). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1966; re-elected g.e. 1969; defeated 1972. Min. without Portfolio and member of executive council (1969-1972). Mem. Select Standing Committees: municipal matters, forestry and fisheries, labour, social welfare and education, public accounts and printing (1967-1972). Worked for improvement of highways; pressed for improved long-term care and housing, and expanded ferry system for North Coast. After leaving politics, involved in applied gerontology and the hospice movement. BC Journals 1967-1972*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1972; Victoria Times Colonist, 11 April 1982: 2; Vancouver Province, 4 Sept. 1949: 39; 1 Feb. 1967: 10; Vancouver Sun, 15 May, 1966: 13-14; 12 April 1982: Al7; Victoria Daily Times, 27 June 1975: 9; Who's Who in BC, 1969 & 1971; Williams Lake Tribune, 1 Feb. 1967: 10. Haggen, Lois Mabel CCF/ N DP (Grand ForksGreenwood) 1956-1966; politician, mother; b. Sept. 16, 1899, Mobile, Alabama;fa. Joseph F. Hill; mo. b. Mabel Lynd; hus. Rupert Haggen (BC MLA, CCF, 1949-1956); mar. 1925; two daughters. Ed: high school. Came to Canada (1911). Employment: accountant, Royal Bank, Quesnel, BC; stenographer, Walla Walla, WA, prison. Mem: PT A, Ross land and Vancouver, BC (1933-1949); chairwoman of Grand .Forks Senior Citizen Housing Society. Ran for mayor of r--Grand Forks (1967), lost by29 votes. Awarded Canadian 0 OJ SOFederation of Business and Professional Women's United Nations Fellowship (1969); Canada's delegate to '" (.) CD the United Nations Human Rights Committee (1968); <{ CL pres. of the Grand Forks Business and Professional Women's Club (I 969); 1st vice-pres. of BC and Yukon Business and Professional Women's Club ( 1969); pres. of the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Club(l970). Mem: Boundary Historical Society, Red Cross Society; pres. of BC Historical Assn. U) Elected BC MLA g.e. Sept. 9, 1956; re-elected g.e. 1960, 1963; defeated g.e. 1966. Repeatedly introduced legislation to amend the Equal Pay Act wording to "equal pay for work of equal value." Supported formation ofa Women's Bureau in the Dept. of Labour; advocated continuous research into education; supported education for job training; opposed to kindergartens. As one of the first women members from a rural district, she worked for rural electrification for farmers and compensation for farmlands ruined through soil pollution and pesticide sprays; proponent of removing tax from restaurant meals and clothing for children under 14. Mem. Select Standing Committees: agriculture, mining and railways, social welfare and education. BC Journals 1957-1966*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1966; Victoria Daily Colonist, 15 Feb. 1959: JO; Victoria Daily Colonist, 20 Feb. 1964: 22; Victoria Daily Colonist, 9 July 1970: 26; Victoria Daily Times, 27 Jan. 1966: 20; Penticton Herald, 9 Sept. 1966: 6; Personal Interview, 28 June 1984; Vancouver Province, 5 Sept. 1969: 7; Vancouver Sun, 16 Mar. 1962: 8; Vancouver Sun, 13 Sept. 1966: 12; Daisy Webster, Growth of the NDP in BC 1900-1970. 394 Women MLAs Hobbs, Margaret CCF/ NDP (Revelstoke) 1962-1963; teacher, mother, politician; b. March 15, 1908, Barwick, Ontario; fa. John Jackson; mo. b. Elizabeth Mitchell; hus. George Hobbs (BC MLA, NDP, 1960-1962); mar. 1936; one daughter; Anglican. CXl CXl 0, co I'-- "' () Cll it Ed: Minitonas High School, Manitoba; Brandon Normal School. Employment: teacher seven years prior to marriage. Moved to Revelstoke after marriage. Mem: CCF sec.-treas. of federal riding of Okanagan Revelstoke; membership sec. Revelstoke Constituency of NDP Assn.; vice-pres. Ladies' Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers; Revelstoke Canadian Club; PT A; Overture Concerts Assn.; past pres. Mt. Revelstoke Lodge 567. Elected BC MLA by-election Sept. 4, 1962, for seat left open by her husband's death; defeated g.e: 1963. Major concern: Columbia River treaty and the resulting flooding of the Arrow Lakes. Proposed Bill 32 (1963), an Act limiting spending by any party in an election to $50,000 and demanding publication of sources of campaign funds. Supported public health insurance; introduced a motion to form a committee to investigate traffic fatalities and accidents on BC highways and also make recommendations for future regulations. Mem. Select Standing Committee: social welfare. Second vice-pres. of NDP (1967-1969). Currently living in Victoria and working for the NDP. BC Journals 1963*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1963; Democrat, July 1962: 6; Vancouver Province, 8 March 1963: 5; Vancouver Sun, 15 Feb. 1963: 15; Daisy Webster, Growth of the NDP in BC 1900-1970. Hodges, Nancy Liberal (Victoria) 1941-1953; columnist, politician; b. Oct. 28, 1888, London, England;fa. Martin Harry Austin; mo. b. Harriet Hawkins; hus. Harry Percival Hodges (editor of Victoria Times); mar.19JO;d. 1969; Anglican. Ed: King's College, Univ. of London. Came to Canada (Nov. 1912); moved to Victoria (1916). Employment: women's editor, Victoria Times (1917--1943); author of column "One Woman's Day" (1943-1953). Mem: founding mem. Business and Professional Women's Club (1921); pres. Victoria Women's Canadian Club; pres. National Federation of Liberal Women (1974). First ran for BC MLA g.e. 1937; defeated. Elected g.e. 1941; re-elected 1945, J949, 1952. Defeated 1953 by Lydia Arsens. Elected first woman speaker of a legislature in the British Commonwealth (Feb. 14, 1950). Opposed laying-off single women to replace them with WWII veterans, threatened to campaign for pensions for women at 40 if this practice was not stopped; advocated the inclusion of women in workers' compensation benefits; presented motion to protect married women's property rights (1947); proposed a department of Social Security and increased old age pensions; recommended stricter control of salacious books, magazines, and films; mem: Post-War Rehabilitation Council; six times proposed a coast road for Vancouver Island north of Port Renfrew; advocate of increased temperance and curtailed liquor sales; opposed licensing of Carter & Daoust 395 cocktail lounges; concerned with the causes and prevention of juvenile delinquency. Mem. Select Standing Committees: social welfare, labour, and public accounts and printing. First BC woman appt. to the Senate (Nov. 5, 1953); as a Senator served on joint Commons and Senate committees to study the death penalty, and divorce laws. Resigned because of ill health June 12, 1965. BC Journals 1942-1952*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1952; Victoria Daily Times, 15 Nov. 1945: 6; Victoria Daily Times, 8 Feb. 1946: 17; Victoria Daily Times, 4 March 1947: 8; Victoria Daily Times, 11 Feb. 1954: 12; Vancouver Province, 9 Dec. 1943: 3, 10; Vancouver Province, 30 Nov. 1944: 10; Vancouver Province, 14 Feb. 1980: B4; Vancouver Sun, 5 Nov. 1953: JO. Jamieson, Laura Emma CCF (Vancouver Centre) 19391945, 1952-1953; b. Dec. 29, 1888, Park Head, Ontario; fa. Joseph Marshall; mo. b. Lucy Smith; hus. John Stuart Jamieson (juvenile court judge); mar. 1911; one daughter, one son; d. 1964, Vancouver, BC; Unitarian. Ed: Univ. ofToronto, majoredinphilosophy(BA, 1908). Moved to Vancouver (1911). Mem: Vancouver University Women's Club (1915-1964); organized Vancouver branch Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (1921), corres. sec. (1925); exec. mem. Vancouver Women's Building (l 925); pres. BC PTA (1925-1926); BC Public Library Commission(l9271938). Canadian delegate to the League of Nations ( 1920) () and the World Education Conference in Geneva (1929). C!l <( Formed the first working women's housing cooperative (1941). Author of Women, Dry Those Tears (1945). Vancouver alderwoman (19481950). Director and pres. New Vista Society, a low-cost housing project for the elderly (1956-1962). Mem: Vancouver Local Council of Women (1911-1964); vice-pres. (1952); Business and Professional Women's Club; Civil Liberties Union; Vancouver Branch, Community Planning Assn.; Women's School for Citizenship; life mem. - Vancouver Local Council of Women (1954). Employment: Juvenile Court judge, Burnaby (1927-1938). Worked for the introduction in BC of the indeterminate sentence to assist in the rehabilitation of young offenders. Q._ Joined the CCF in 1938. Elected BC MLA by-election 1939; re-elected 1941; defeated 1945; re-elected g.e. 1952; defeated 1953. Introduced equal pay for equal work legislation (Bill 47) ( 1953), defeated; later re-introduced and passed by the Social Credit govt. after the election of 1953 (Bill 20). Introduced legislation to ensure married women would not be dismissed from civil service jobs (Bill 65) (1953). Supported legislation to include domestic servants in minimum wage laws. Also supported improved wages and working conditions for women retail clerks and factory workers. Concerned about improvement to the Deserted Wives Maintenance Act. Supported public health insurance and free medical aid to the elderly and those on mother's allowances. Favoured more public information for the prevention of venereal disease. Chairwoman of educational committee of CCF. Concerned with problems, and prevention, of juvenile delinquency. Supported price controls to remedy inflation. Mem. Select Standing Committees: social welfare, and municipal matters. 1st vice-pres. provincial CCF (1950-1951); pres. CCF women's provincial council (r961). 396 Women MLAs BC Journals 1939-1945, 1953*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1953; B. Latham and C. Kess, eds., In Her Own Right; Owen Sound Sun Times, 25 July 1942: JO; Papers of Laura Jamieson, P ABC. Johnston, Rita Social Credit (Surrey) 1983businesswoman, alderwoman, mother, politician; b. April 22, 1935, Melville, Sask.;fa. John Liechert; mo. b. Annie Chyzzy; hus. George Johnston (businessman); mar. 1951; two daughters, one son; Protestant. "" ·~ Ed: John Oliver High School, Vancouver. Employment: steno-cashier Household Finance Company; Bank of 5 Montreal; manager, Bell Finance Co. (1958-1967); built, g owned and operated with husband, a mobile home park ~ in Surrey, BC (1967-1981); Surrey alderwoman (1969u 1975, 1978-1980, 1982-1983); organized the Freedom of ~ Individual Rights and Efforts Committee to fight Bill 42 o (Land Commission Act) (1973). Mem: Greater ·~ Vancouver Regional District Board and Director of c55 Metro Transit Operating Company; Surrey Chamber of Commerce; Newton Ratepayer's; Surrey Business and Professional Women's Club (founding member). Elected BC MLA g.e. May 5, 1983. Mem. Select Standing Committees: transportation and communication (chairwoman), and municipal affairs. Authorized Biography: Social Credit Party, 1983; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1984; Personal Correspondence, July 1984; Vancouver Province, 5 March 1973: 36. Jordan, Patricia Jane Social Credit (Okanagan North) 1966-1982; registered nurse, nursing instructor, mother, author, politician; b. Dec. 7, 1930, Vernon, BC;fa. John William Laidman; mo. b. Eva Maud Wiseman; hus. Laurence T. Jordan (MD); mar. 1954; two sons; Anglican. Ed: high school, Vernon, BC; UBC; Vancouver Gen. Hosp. School of Nursing; San Antonio State College, Texas; Univ. of Minnesota. Employment: psychiatric nursing instructor, Rochester State Hosp. (Mayo Clinic), Rochester, NY. Mem: Minneapolis Registered Nurses Assn.; pres. Mayo Clinic Fellow Wives Assn.; Registered Nursing Assn. of BC; executive position Vernon Jubilee Hosp. Aux.; hon. mem. IODE; John Howard Soc.; past dir. Vernon Winter Carnival Soc.; Vernon Arts Soc.; Toastmistresses Women's Award; Centennial Service Award (1977). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1966; re-elected g.e. 1969, 1972, 1975, and 1979. Youngest woman legislator and later Cabinet minister in Canada; Min. without Portfolio ( 19661972); Chairwoman Social Credit Caucus (1976). Min. of Tourism (1980); resigned Cabinet position (Aug. 10, 1982); mem. executive council. Mem. Carter & Daoust 397 Select Standing Committees: public accounts and prmtmg, labour, forestry and fisheries, agriculture, municipal matters, social welfare and education. Author and sponsor of book Women and the Law in British Columbia; instrumental in getting an expanded consumer's education program into the schools. BC Journals 1967-1972*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1969, 1982, 1983; Jan Gould, Women of BC; Personal correspondence, July 1984; Vancouver Province, 23 Feb. 1976: 13, 12 Jan. 1977: 13, JO Jan. 1980: A4; Vancouver Sun, 25 Mar. 1971: 43; Who's Who in BC, 1969-1971. Kripps, Agnes Social Credit (Vancouver-South) 19691972; mother, politician; b. Nov. 28, 1925, Winnipeg, Man.; fa. John Semeniuk; mo. b. Effie Davydiuk; hus. Stephen Kripps (pharmacist); mar. 1946; three daughters, one son; Ukrainian Orthodox. Ed: St. John's Technical Vocational High School; Univ. of Manitoba; Success Business College, Winnipeg, Man. Employment: exec. admin. and sec.-treas., Mega-Vitamin Products Ltd.; Kripps Ventures Ltd. Mem: past pres. BC Provincial Women's Pharmaceutical Assn.; progra!Jl director of Granville St. to Theatre Row beautification project; past dir. of National Board Folk Arts Council; past. pres. Can. Folk Soc.; past pres. BC Ukrainian Canadian Committee and National Advisory Board; past pres. Marpole-Oakridge Community Assn.; life mem. for outstanding service to the community; life mem. BC Social Credit Party; past pres. BC Provincial Social Credit Women's Assn.; past pres. Vancouver-South Social Credit Constituency Assn.: resigned after defeat in nomination selection, 1975. Elected BC MLA g.e. 1969; defeated in nomination selection 1975. First person of Ukrainian ancestry elected to BC Legislature; first person to use French in BC Legislature ( 1971 ); initiated legislation to declare first Monday of August as statutory holiday (BC Day). Advocated: old Vancouver Court House be converted into art gallery (realized, 1983); Canadian governor-generals be other than AngloFrancophones, including women; pain killer drugs become tax-free drugs; "Litter Control Act"; change in Pharmacy Act to lower cost of prescription drugs (19691972); a Dept. of Youth and Youth programs in BC; government dept. of Environmental Control; Sr. Citizen housing; day-care centres sponsored by corporations and businesses, who employ women; BC Development Corp., for purpose of developing a long-range program of profitable primary and secondary industry; sex education programs in schools. Mem. Select Standing Committees: health, education and welfare, agriculture committee (sec.); private bills and standing orders (sec.); municipal affairs and special committee on motion picture classification (1969-1972). BC Journals 1970-1972*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1972; Personal papers and correspondence, Agnes Kripps, July 1984; Vancouver Province, 19 Nov. 1975: 10. 398 Women MLAs Macinnis, Winona Grace CCF/NDP (VancouverBurrard) 1941-1945; MP (Vancouver-Kingsway) 19651974; teacher, social reformer, political activist, politician; b. July 25, 1905, Winnipeg, Man.; fa. J.S. Woodsworth (founding member and first leader of C CF Party); mo. b. Lucy Lillian Staples; hus. Angus Macinnis (politician); mar. 1932. Ed: teacher training, Ottawa Normal School; Univ. Manitoba (BA, 1928); French government scholarship, Sorbonne, Paris (I yr); UBC (1921-1922); honourary degrees (Doctor of Law) from 8 Canadian universities; hon. parliamentary sec. to her father (1931) and to first CCF caucus in House of Commons (5 yrs); wrote weekly reports for party journals, labour and farm papers (l 9321942); delegate to first national convention of CCF in Regina (1933-1961); served on ten-woman committee of the federal govt.'s post-war problems of women (1943); one of six Canadian delegates to International Assembly of Women, New York ( 1946); author of award-winning biography, J. S. Woodsworth: A Man to Remember (1953); council mem. and vice-pres. of constituency (1946); prov. pres. NDP; awarded Woman of the Year Award, B'nai Brith Women, Toronto (1971); testimonial Univ. Women's Club, Vane. (1974); first woman Freeman of City of Vane. (1974); officer of the Order of Canada (OC) (1974); estab. Lucy L. Woodsworth Fund for Children, designed to aid children in low-income homes (Vane.) (1977); received "Persons" Award (1979); Canadian Labour Congress Award for outstanding service to Humanity (1982). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1941; defeated in 1945; political activities restricted due to husband's failing health and death (1957-1964); ran in federal elections and retained husband's riding (1965); re-elected 1968, 1972. BC's first woman MP; retired 1974 owing to severe arthritis. While MLA, served on municipal matters and social welfare committees (1941-1945); introduced bill to amend the Adult Occupational Training Act to include housewives ( 1970); introduced private bill to provide maternity leave for women employed in areas of federal jurisdiction. As an MP, concerned with birth control, medicare, pensions and allowances, housing, consumer affairs, cost of living and adult occupational training; in her first speech in House of Commons, she advocated salaries for women who wanted to make a full-time career of motherhood; she fought to remove abortion from Criminal Code. BC Journals 1941-45*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1945; New Westminster Colonist, 20 May 1977: 3; New Westminster Columbian, 17 Jan. 1974: 9; Personal correspondence, July 1984; Times Weekend Magazine, 3 Oct. 1970: 18; Vancouver News Herald, 6 Oct. 1941: 21; 25 May 1954: 3; Vancouver Province, 23 May 1974: 48; Vancouver Sun, 6 June 1974: 4; 15 Oct. 1979: Fl2; Victoria Daily Times, 9 Aug.1969: 23; Victorian, 18 Oct. 1974: l; 23 Oct. 1974: 28; White Rock & Surrey Sun, 6 June 1974: 9; Daisy Webster, Growth of the NDP in BC: 1900-1970; Women in Federal Politics: A Bio-bibliography (Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1975). Carter & Daoust 399 McCarthy, Grace Mary Social Credit (Vancouver-Little Mtn.) 1966-1972, 1975- ; businesswoman, mother, politician; b. Oct. 14, 1927; fa. George Winterbottom; mo. b. Allrietta McCloy; hus. Raymond McCarthy (businessman); mar. 1948; one daughter, one son; Anglican. Employment: pres., Grayce Florists Ltd. Mem: past pres. Vancouver Credit Women's Business Club; governor Vancouver Aquarium Assn.; first woman pres. of a local Chamber of Commerce in Canada (1953); Canadian Florist of the Year ( 1960). Vancouver Parks Board Commissioner (1961-66), instituted a recreational program for the disabled, saved acres of parkland from ' developers, including Van Dusen Botanical Garden's acreage. Mem: Advisory Board, Salvation Army; Director Canadian Assn. of Christians and Jews; NW Council of Sales and Marketing, Marketer of the Year (1977); Annual Award, Greater Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau (1977); hon. mem., Vancouver AM Tourist Assn.; federal govt. silver medal for contribution to tourism (Sept. 1982). Defeated for Social Credit nomination in Pt. Grey ( 1964). Elected BC MLA g.e. 1966; defeated 1972; re-elected g.e. 1975, i979, and 1983. Min. without Portfolio (Dec. 12, 1966); initiated a training and residential centre for retarded children in northern BC; headed a re-organization of Vancouver welfare services. Research assistant to W .A. C. Bennett (1972-1973). Pres. of Social Credit Party (1973-1975), responsible for increasing Party membership from 5,000 to 70,000. Provincial Secretary, Deputy Minister, Minister of Recreation and Tourism (Dec. 22, 1975); responsible for Captain Cook Bicentennial Celebration (1978); as Prov. Sec., cut funding of the BC Status of Women Council (Jan. 1976); Min. responsible for ICBC (Dec. 1978-Nov. 1979), favoured private insurance competition with ICBC; Deputy Premier and Min. of Human Resources (Dec. 5, 1978), introduced legislation to protect battered children and to establish an abuse help line for children; introduced Individual Opportunity Plan ( 1981 ): welfare becomes "short-term help for employable people," some welfare recipients are offered job training and the "employable" are given reduced benefits; supports de-institutionalization of the mentally handicapped; chairman of Cabinet committee on Employment Development ( 1982); responsible for BC Transit, Metro Transit Operating Co. and Pacific Coach Lines (May 1983); relieved of Deputy Premiership (May 1983); supported Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. Authorized Biography: Ministry of Human Resources, 1984; BC Journals 19671972*; Canadian Parliamentry Guide 1967, 1976, 1983; Victoria Daily Times, 12 Feb. 1980: 26; Vancouver Province, 15 April 1982: A4; John Schreiner, "Amazing Grace" in The Financial Post Magazine, 14 May 1977: 10-14; Vancouver Sun, 10 Jan. 1976: 33; Vancouver Sun, 20 Oct. 1980: A3; Vancouver Sun, 15 Sept. 1983: A5. 400 Women MLAs Mather, Camille Mildred CCF/ NDP(Delta) 1960-1963; nurse, mother, politician; b. March 16, 1912, Victoria, BC; fa. John Swanson; mo. b. Elizabeth Nil/er; hus. Barry Mather (MP for New Westminster, 1962-1974); mar. 1939; two daughters; United Church. r--- co 0 ct m > ::, 0 u C >"' Ed: Columbian College; Univ. of Toronto (BA); Employment: teacher, Nicola, BC. Mem: pres. New Westminster Council of Women (3 yrs); pres. Prov. Council of Women (5 yrs); vice-pres. and life mem. National Council of Women (20 yrs); Chief and Grand Factor Native Daughters of BC (1919); founder, New Westrninster Univ. Women's Club ( 1920); first vice-pres. and mem. of VON (26 yrs); PEO Sisterhood; Red Cross; official BC Government rep. at Peace Arch celebration; Dom. Health Council (12 yrs); awarded MBE as 402 Women MLAs chairwoman of the Regional Advisory Committee of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board; chairwoman of the advisory board of the first Borstal Home (2 yrs); Vane. Board of School Trustees (1930-1934); honourary life mem. Elizabeth Fry Society; Board of Directors, Royal Columbian Hospital; first pres. YWCA; vice-pres. Literary Soc.; Regional Advisory Committee of Prov. Unemployment Insurance; at time of death was prov. pres. VON. Elected BC MLA g.e. 1933; re-elected g.e. 1937. Second woman elected to the Legislature; introduced bills curtailing false advertising; advocated: fair prices and quality of goods; old age pensions and other forms of social security legislation; new prison quarters for women at Okalla; restoration of mother's pensions; raising support age from sixteen to eighteen; retirement insurance. Mem. Select Standing Committees: printing, municipal matters, standing orders and private bills (19341939). BC Journals 1934-1940*; British Columbian, 21 Jan.1950:6; 7 Julv 1955: l; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1941; Margaret Lang Hastings and Lorrai~e Ellenwood, Blue Bows and the Golden Rule: Prov. Council of Women of BC, An Historical Account (1984); Interview with Grace Smith, Victoria, BC, July 31, 1984;The Islander, mag. sec., Nov. 1975: n.p.; Vancouver Province, 20 July 1955: 8; Vancouver Sun, 7 July 1955: 2; 19 July: 39; Vertical Profiles File, BC Legislative Library; Victoria Daily Colonist, 2 Nov. 1975: 2; Western Woman's Weekly, 14 Aug. 1920: vol. 3, no. 24; Personal correspondence with Paui D. Smith, Parksville, BC. Smith, Mary Ellen Independent (Vancouver City) 19181928; teacher, mother, author, politician; b. Oct. 11, 1863, Gunnislake, Ca/stock, (near Tavistock), England; fa. Richard Spear; mo. b. Mary Anne Jackson; hus. Ralph Smith (coalminer, trade union activist, Methodist lay-preacher and politician); mar. 1883; one stepdaughter and four sons; d. 1933, Vancouver, BC; Methodist. Came to Nanaimo, BC (1891); moved to Vancouver (1911). Mem: charter mem., vice-pres. and pres. Woman's Hospital Auxiliary, Nanaimo, BC; pres. 0 Women's Work, Methodist Church, Nanaimo; Laurier (') Liberal Ladies' League; life mem. National Council of "' u CD Women; Vancouver Local Council of Women; Women's ~ Institute; Red Cross; Suffrage League of Canada; Pioneer Political Equality League; WCTU; original mem. Vancouver Women's Forum (later known as Women's Ratepayers Assn. of Vane.); Vancouver City Creche (1911); Regent IODE (1915); pres. Vancouver Women's Canadian Club (1915-1917); organizer and fund raiser of Returned Soldier's Club (1915); hon. pres. Vancouve.r Women's Liberal Assn. (1917); first pres. National Federal Liberal Women of Canada; chairwoman BC. Liberal Caucus (5 yrs); toured England encouraging emigration to Canada (1923); Dominion Board of Mental Hygiene; Federal Tariff Committee (1925); commission to inquire into the practice of Workmen's Compensation Act (1926); chairwoman BC Liberal convention (1927 until 1932); Canadian delegate to International Labour Conference in Geneva ( 1929); author of book Is It Just? (1912). ('.J CX) 0) Elected BC MLA in by-election 1918; re-elected 1920, 1924; defeated 1928. First woman elected to BC Legislature, first woman Cabinet minister, first woman in world to succeed her deceased husband. Offered position as House Speaker but wanted to be Carter & Daoust 403 Cabinet minister; was Speaker of the House for a few hours only; resigned position of Min. without Portfolio, but retained seat. Champion of women's rights; instrumental in enactment of Female Minimum Wage; Deserted Wives Maintenance, the Equal Guardianship and Mother's Allowance Acts. Mem. Select Standing Committees: municipal matters, agriculture, private bills and railways (1918-1924). BC Journals 1918-1924*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1919-1923; B. Latham & C. Kess, eds., In Her Own Right; Elizabeth Norcroh, in this volume and personal correspondence; Victoria Daily Colonist, 26 Feb. 1919: 8; 4 May 1933: 4. Steeves, Dorothy Gretchen CCF (North Vancouver) 1934-1945; lawyer, activist, mother,politician; b. May 26, 1891, Amsterdam, Holland;fa. Adrian Biersteker; mo. b. Lillian Auld; hus. Rupert Palmer Steeves; one son; d. May 9, 1978; Unitarian. Ed: Univ. of Leiden, Holland (law degree). WW I legal advisor to Dutch government's War Time Prices and Trade Board. Married after hus. was exchanged into Holland as a German POW. Mem: Socialist Party of Holland; came to Canada 1919; Mem: sec. University Women's Club; League of Nations Society; Point Grey Vancouver, town planning committee (1926-1929); League for Social Reconstruction which became the u Reconstruction Party ( 1932); Women's League for Peace aJ <{ 0.. and Freedom; BC Civil Liberties Assn.; Canadian Institute for International Affairs; Canadian Committee for Nuclear Disarmament; Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment. Joined the CCF (1933). Author of A Compassionate Rebel (1960), a biography of MLA Ernest A. Winch, and Builders and Rebels, a history of the CCF from 1932-1961. Elected BC MLA by-election of 1934; re-elected 1937, 1941; defeatedg.e. 1945. First woman CCF member of BC Legislature; introduced Bill 13 to provide for organization of cooperative savings and credit societies (1936); chairwoman of CCF committee to study health, welfare, education, cooperatives and credit unions ( 1940s); introduced legislation to include domestic servants in minimum wage laws; urged women to enter labour force. Advocated equal accessibility to the workforce; birth control and child care; more female involvement in the political process. Introduced Bill 32 for annual holidays with pay (1939); urged implementation of health insurance, and low-cost and cooperative housing. Introduced motions advocating full citizenship rights and self-government for Native People (1943); fought against persecution of Japanese during WW II; strongly condemned Canada's entering WW ll; suggested: patriation of the BNA Act; nationalizing BC Tel (1939). Introduced concept of community colleges; vice-pres. of CCF ( 1949); pres. of CCF (1950); sat on CCF national council; editor of CCF news; unsuccessfully contested both the federal riding of Burnaby-Richmond (1949) and the federal riding of Vancouver-Quadra (1963). Involved in the formation of NDP in BC in 1961; wrote for the Democrat in the early 1960s. BC Journals 1935-1945*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1945; Vancouver Courier, 18 May 1978: 22; Victoria Daily Colonist, 18 June 1978: 12; Victoria Daily Times, 25 April 1935: 9; Vancouver Province, 12 May 1978: 5; Vancouver Sun, 12 May 1978: Al J; Susan Walsh, "The Peacock and the Guinea Hen," 1984, in this volume; Daisy Webster, Growth of the N DP in BC 1900-1970. 0 404 Women MLAs Wallace, Barbara Brookman NDP (CowichanMalahat) 1975- ; mother, BC Hydro employee, trade union counsellor, politician; b. March 24, 1918, Coronation, A/berta;fa. Clarence Clausen Wager; mo. b. Elizabeth Sarah Jordan; hus. Robert Hart Wallace (farmer); mar. 1941; one daughter, one son. Ed: two-room high school; Olds School of Agriculture, Olds, Alta.; attended business school, Ladysmith, BC. Came to Ladysmith 1936; farmed (1941-1970). Mem: pres. and sec. and Board mem. of WI; PT A; life mem. Countrywomen of the World. ui () Employment: adm. asst. BC Hydro (1954-1970); counsellor in Office and Technical Employees 0"' a. International Union; BCH Superannuated Employees 0 z (holds a withdrawal card); formerly represented the Central and Northern Island at the Prov. Council of OTEU; delegate to the BC Federation of Labour; instrumental in helping to push BC Hydro away from separate male/female salary scales. Sec. CCF caucus (1940-1945); past pres. of Sam Guthrie NOP Club in Ladysmith; represented Cowichan-Malahat Constituency on the NOP Prov. Council; local press coordinator for Bob Strachan and Tommy Douglas; chairwoman of the Prov. Agriculture Policy Committee ( 1971 ); drafted government's agricultural policy. Mem: Prov. Marketing Board (1974). ~ ~ Elected BC MLA g.e. 1975; re-elected g.e. 1979 and 1983. Opposition critic on agriculture (1975-1983); presently environment critic (1983) mem. of NDP task force on older women; worked for greater awareness of agricultural affairs in NDP; interested in any group that is disadvantaged. Authorized biography, NDP Caucus office, 1984; BC Journals 1976-1979*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1982-83; Personal correspondence and interview, 3 July 1984; The Coquitlam-Enterprise, 26 Apr. 1978: 4; Terrace-Kitimat Herald, 24 Apr. 1978: 2; Vancouver Province, 30 Dec. 1975: 7. E fi C II c, 0 Webster, Daisy NDP (Vancouver-South) 1972-1975; teacher, dietician, provincial home economics inspector, mother, author, columnist,politician; b. 1911, Winnipeg, Manitoba; fa. John de Jong; mo. b. Katrina Stienstra; hus. Arnold Webster (teacher, politician); mar. 1955; two step-sons; United Church. Ed: United College, Winnipeg, Man.; Univ. of Manitoba (BSc. HE, 1932); UBC (MA, 1968); came to BC (1937). Employment: waitress, store clerk, seed co. worker ( 1929C 1937); dietician CWAC(l943-1945); Prov. Insp. of Home t,0 '• Economics (1953-1955). Mem: Social Planning and _,Q Review Council; past pres. Vane. Council of Women; 8 chaired committee of Homemaker Service educational 2 ctl program prior to institution into BC Health program; > & advisory council TCU Credit Union; volunteer driver and service Meals-on-Wheels; counsellor for Department of Human Resources; parliamentary observer to UN (N ov.-Dec. 1962); author of The Growth of the N DP in BC: 1900-1970. "'s B ]' 1. v 0 .I u tl Carter & Daoust 405 Elected BC MLA g.e. 1972; retired 1975. Columnist for Democrat. Mem. Select Standing Committees: public accounts and economic affairs, health, education and human resources. Closely associated with legislation in education to develop special programs for non-English speaking children and better education opportunities for Native Indian children; initiated legislation to repeal public pay toilets as discriminatory towards women; worked ort improving working conditions in the garment industry. BC Journals 1972-1975*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1975; Personal letter and correspondence, July 1984; Vancouver Sun, 8 Sept. 1975: 8, 15 Sept. 1975: 23; Victoria Daily Times, 8 Sept. 1975: 8; Daisy Webster, ADD MSS 704, PACB. Young, Phyllis Florence NDP (Vancouver-Little Mtn.) 1972-1975; airforce staff sergeant, union activist, politician; b. April 25, 1925, Grand Rapids, Michigan;fa. Norris Arthur Young; mo. b. Florence Thorne; d. March 17, 1984. Ed: South High School, Grand Rapids; Jarvis Collegiate, Toronto; Univ. of Washington and Maryland. Employment: US Navy and Air Force teletype operator and staff sergeant ( 1951-1955); teletype operator and flight attendant, United Airlines; researcher, BC Federation of Labour (1966-1972). Mem: NDP (19671984); board mem. Vancouver Status of Women Council; Office and Technical Employees Union, Local 15; Society for Pollution and Environmental Control. Elected BC MLA g.e. 1972; defeated g.e. 1975. Min. without Portfolio (May 18, 1973); first Min. of Consumer Services (Nov. 8, 1973, to Dec. 22, 1975). Introduced Bill 126 (The Fair Trade Practices Act) (1974), described as a charter for the fair deal; introduced Bill 139 (Personal Information Reporting Act) (1973); supported the concept of a Ministry for Women (1972); favoured labour code changes to benefit the organization of women's unions; initiated fairer practices for granting credit to women; encouraged hiring of women and handicapped in her ministry. Mem. Select Standing Committees: labour, public accounts and printing. BC Journals 1972-1975*; Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1975; Democrat, April 1984: 12; Vancouver Province, 24 May 1973: 5; Vancouver Province, 20 March 1975: 11; Vancouver Province, 21 May 1975: 8; Vancouver Province, 21 Nov. 1975: 38; Vancouver Sun, 5 Oct. 1973: 12. *The citation, BC Journals, refers to a publication whose title has been changed over the years. From 1918 to 1955, the full title was, Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, and from 1955 to the present, the title is, Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia Journals. Available in the BC Legislative Library, Victoria.