TAKING ON THE PATRIARCHY: The Women’s Emergency Committee versus Ottawa

The Emergency Women’s Committee petition was eventually sent to various members of the Canadian government. Similar to how petitions have historically been used to study the overall goals of women in various periods of history, the government's response to them has been used to understand a state's feelings toward women’s movements. (13) The Canadian government’s response to the Emergency Women’s Committee highlights the sentiment felt towards women during WW2. With the absence of men causing women to climb higher in society than they ever had before many Canadian men feared what would happen to the power they held. This led to a belief to grow within the Canadian patriarchy that the rise of female power was an anomaly that would return to normal after the war as at the end of the day “they’re still women after all.” (14)

Ian Mackenzie the Minister of Pension and National Health certainly believed that Canadian women would return to normal life after the war as evidenced in his correspondence with the Women’s Emergency Committee regarding the hospital situation. Ian Mackenzie was the politician in charge of ensuring Christie Street was adequate and as such was the first point of contact for the Committee. In the face of the petitions, list of demands, and evidence provided by the Women’s Emergency Committee Ian Mackenzie simply denied the issues at Christie Street and said Sunnybrook was well on its way despite a lack of evidence of this. (15) The Women’s Committee refused to accept Mackenzie’s statements about Christie Street and Sunnybrook as they saw no evidence, he was telling the truth. Ian Mackenzie in turn decided that because the Committee would not accept his lies as the truth, he felt that nothing would be gained from further communication between the group and himself. (16) Mackenzie ignoring the Women’s Committee and the thousands of Canadian women who had signed their petition reflects the idea that Canadian men could ignore the newfound power of women as it would not last forever. If a male-led movement had garnered this much support, it is hard to believe Mackenzie would have acted in the same way. Beyond the politics of gender, Ian Mackenzie was not fulfilling his duty as a member of the Canadian government. A politician is supposed to listen to the people who voted him to power, yet Mackenzie was ignoring a movement with an overwhelming amount of support. Furthermore, Mackenzie oversaw the health of wounded veterans, yet he was making life harder for the brave Canadian soldiers wounded in the war.

Ian Mackenzie eventually would be forced to act when Prime Minister Mackenzie King finally learned of the abhorrent situation Ian Mackenzie had allowed at Christie Street and forced action. Mackenzie King finally heard the Committee’s pleas to him and ordered Ian Mackenzie to create new committees to advance the creation of Sunnybrook Hospital with at least two members of the Women’s Emergency Committee on board. Ian Mackenzie however decided again that he would ignore the Women’s Emergency Committee and tried to hold their members off of the newly formed committees. (17)  Despite Ian Mackenzie’s continued ignorance towards the Women’s Committee, it would be them who claimed victory for Canadian wounded veterans in the end. Sunnybrook would be built as a replacement for Christie Street thanks to the tireless work of the Women’s Emergency Committee. (18) The fight to get Sunnybrook built was not easy for Dr. Minerva Reid and her committee as being a Committee of women fighting male politicians meant they started at a disadvantage in a patriarchal society. Their gender coupled with Ian Mackenzie’s lack of care regarding veteran care made their goals seem unreachable. Despite the large hurdles to overcome the Women’s Emergency Committee’s unwavering resolve remained firm until they had reached their goals.

                                                                  Ottawa and The Committee

CORRESPONDENCE: The back and forth between the Canadian government and the Women’s Emergency Committee