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Sat, 04 - Feb, 2012: |
This day in 1906...
Gladys Strum, pioneer in Saskatchewan and Canadian politics, was born
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Gladys Grace Mae Lamb was born on February 4, 1906 in Gladstone, Manitoba. At 16, she became a teacher in Saskatchewan, where she met her husband Warner Strum. Early in their marriage, Warner contracted tuberculosis and Gladys got an understanding of the deficiencies in Canada?s health care system. During travels to New Zealand, Strum gained an appreciation for that country?s progressive health care practices, which prompted her to get involved in the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party in Canada. Although defeated in her bids for the legislature in 1938 and 1944 (the latter by six votes to Premier Patterson), Strum was actively involved in Canada?s first socialist government when Tommy Douglas became premier in the June 1944 election. The Saskatchewan CCF elected Strum president, making her the first woman president of a political party in Canada. The following year, she was elected the CCF Member of Parliament for Qu?Appelle, Saskatchewan, the only woman in the House of Commons during that session and the fifth woman MP elected to Ottawa. Among other achievements, Strum was successful in convincing the speaker of Parliament that women need no longer wear hats or handkerchiefs in the gallery. She was also famous for her line, ?No one has ever objected to women working; the only thing they have ever objected to is paying women for working.? Strum was defeated in 1949. However, she made her way back into politics in 1960 as a member of the Saskatchewan Legislature from Saskatoon. During that session she was proud to vote for the legislation that created Canada?s first socialized medical system. Strum died in Penticton, B.C. on August 15, 2005.
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Be sure to have a look at
Managing human rights at work
101 practical tips to prevent
human rights disasters
Human Rights Podcast
Join Stephen every day for a short 2 minute Podcast from his book Steps in the Rights Direction. Meet people who didn't want to be special but chose to stick their neck out and stand up for what they believed and in doing so changed our world.
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Steps in the Rights Direction
365 Human Rights Celebrations and Tragedies
that Inspired
Canada and the World
A fascinating book revealing all sorts of interesting facts and history
regarding human rights in Canada and around the world.
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Stephen Hammond has researched one human rights fact for
every day of the year
and put
it in a beautifully designed hard-cover book.
If you like interesting facts or if you care about human rights, you’ll
want
to get this book.
It will also make a wonderful gift for others.
Preview the Book
   
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 “In taking us through a year of human rights, Stephen Hammond leaves us with a powerful mosaic that reveals just how precious and vital human rights are. Steps in the Rights Direction shows us that great things can and have been achieved in the human rights arena, even in the face of daunting obstacles. Human rights are at the core of virtually every aspect of how we live every single day of our lives. Our freedoms, our security, our ability to go to school or to work, our access to housing and to health care, our religious beliefs – are all, in their very essence, about human rights. What could be more fitting than this new book that reminds us of how important human rights are on a daily basis. In doing so, these 365 snapshots underscore that so many of the great triumphs and heart-wrenching tragedies in human rights protection come down, in the end, to a single day, a day that may reflect the very best or the very worst of humanity. This tour through the year should bolster our determination to do everything we possibly can to add more and more victories to the human rights calendar.“
A little bit about the book.
Did you know that:
January 27, 1959 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Quebec Premier Maurice Duplesis was personally liable for ruining the business of a Jehovah’s Witness?
April 19, 1907 Aboriginal Canadian Tom Longboat won the Boston Marathon with record time and attracted celebrity status?
May 12, 1820 Florence Nightingale was born and her strong math skills—discouraged by her mother—led to the innovation that saved so many soldiers?
June 13, 1986 Henry Vlug became Canada’s first deaf lawyer?
July 28, 1755 Nova Scotia Governor Charles Lawrence ordered the deportation of thousands of Acadians after years of discrimination?
September 23, 1992 Canadian Manon Rheaume became the NHL’s first woman
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