DR. MINERVA REID: The trailblazer that started the committee of Canadian women

You cannot tell the story of the Women’s Emergency Committee for Wounded Veterans without first telling the story of its impassioned leader Dr. Minerva Reid. Dr. Reid was the first female chief surgeon in North America, paving the way for all the women in medicine who came after her. (4) Dr. Reid’s impact on Canada was more than just in the field of medicine as she fought hard for social issues as a politician and activist. Reid combined her social activism and her experience in the field of medical care as she led the Women’s Emergency Committee for Wounded Veterans. (5) The women’s committee made it their goal to draw attention to the inhospitable conditions of Canada’s wounded veteran hospital Christie Street Hospital. The committee under Dr. Reid’s leadership pushed for the establishment of Sunnybrook Hospital to replace the outdated Christie Street. (6) Through their petitions, meetings, letters, and protests the women of this committee fought their own fight during WW2 on behalf of Canadian soldiers returning home. These women’s tireless efforts reflect the spirit of women on the homefront during WW2, who fought to ensure that the Canadian men fighting to protect their Country would be able to return to a better version of the one they left. 

                                                           The Committee's Statement of Intent 

THEIR GOALS AND FIGHT: What the Women’s Emergency Committee hoped to achieve and how they planned to do so