People

Rita MacNeil, “I’m no rabble-rouser.”

by Frances Rooney | Oct 20, 2008

For decades, many Canadians thought of Rita MacNeil as their own gentle, shy, legendary singer songwriter. Then, last August, recently declassified documents from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed that, in the early 1970s, she was part of a group that the RCMP infiltrated and spied on. The group? Women. Whooo, scary!  read more

part one of choice in Canada: access to abortions

by Sarah Ghabrial | Sep 16, 2008

Beyond recent bills, beyond Henry Morgentaler – beyond all the rhetoric for and against choice – many women still face huge barriers when it comes to getting safe abortion procedures in this country. “There is an assumption that, as long as we’ve got the legislation, the work is done.” It is the wrong assumption to make. read more

activist artist: Persimmon Blackbridge, other matters

by Frances Rooney | May 30, 2008

Her creative work deals with the experiences of those who’ve been through both the mental health and prison systems. Through her art, Persimmon has explored body image, community, depression, sexuality, alcoholism, marginalization, disabilities, pornography, and war. Her latest search for a collaborator is very personal. She is looking for a kidney donor. Her situation reveals something startling: Canada has one of the lowest organ donation rates among industrialized countries. read more

Earth Day: Vandana Shiva, physicist, environmental activist, feminist, ecologist and author

by Frances Rooney | Apr 21, 2008

According to Vandana Shiva, we are all connected, As a result, the rights of women and small farmers is central to her work for our earth. She points out that women are the main producers and processors of food. Farmers are the keepers of the diversity that makes both people and plants strong. “For me,” says Shiva, “ecology and feminism have been inseparable.” She combines women’s rights and nature’s rights, celebrating our cultural diversity and biological diversity. read more

dancer, choreographer, teacher, visionary: Celia Franca, 1921-2007

by Frances Rooney | Mar 3, 2008

A man would have been called hard headed, focused, larger than life, terrifying, adored. In an article written by Paul Gessell, Celia Franca was called “two words ... Both rhyme with rich.” Later, she was also called hard headed, focused, larger than life, terrifying, adored. Despite her look of delicate femininity, Celia Franca was tough. Because of her work, ballet and the all-important teaching of teachers of ballet have found a strong and vibrant place in Canadian culture.  read more

Viola Desmond, unintentional revolutionary

by Frances Rooney | Jan 29, 2008

On November 8, 1946, a woman bought a ticket to a movie. She sat down in the theatre. She was told to move. She didn’t. The theatre manager went outside, found a police officer, and the two men roughly threw her out. Then she was arrested. Charged. Thrown in jail. Found guilty of an astonishing crime. Viola Desmond demanded justice. She did not receive it. This is how the segregation laws of Nova Scotia started to crumble. This is what too many of us don’t know. This is our history.  read more

activist: Aoua Bocar LY-Tall, making the connections between environment and the treatment of women and girls

by Frances Rooney | Jan 14, 2008

What does the status of women and girls – especially as reflected in female genital mutilation – have to do with global warming? Or with planting North American seeds in rural Africa? In fact, they have everything to do with one another. read more

Commissioner Busson on the case

by Frances Rooney | Aug 24, 2007

She took on the top job at the Mounties in December 2006. Bev Busson is the first woman to have held the position of commissioner. And she only had a few months to deal with two major crises for the RCMP. The story of how one of the first female members of the regular forces quickly cleaned house. read more

rebel daughter, feminist revolutionary: Doris Anderson, 1921–2007

by Wendy Robbins | Jun 11, 2007

Wendy Robbins’ impressions and notes on the public memorial for Doris Anderson held at Toronto’s Convocation Hall May 12, 2007. read more

a stand-up woman: Doris Anderson

by Frances Rooney | Jun 11, 2007

While other magazines were telling women to stay home, be quiet, and do what their husbands wanted, Doris Anderson was, as June Callwood said, “quietly putting out the most seditious magazine in the country ... She was saying to women, stand up.” read more