Christie Street hospital was initially created as a temporary military hospital in 1919, but the news that the government planned to expand rather than rebuild it made the public realize that the government no longer considered it temporary (4). This infuriated many people as the hospital was considered to be causing “needless suffering to the men living there.” (5). In response to the crippling conditions, prominent women, such as Judith Robinson, Dr. Minerva Reid and Lady Flora Eaton, created the Women's Emergency Committee. This committee raised awareness of the conditions of this hospital and pushed the government to build a new hospital, now known as Sunnybrook Hospital.

The Women’s Emergency Committee pushed for change through advocacy and petitioning, partially due to the work of Judith Robinson. Judith Robinson was a prominent journalist and the Editor of her weekly newspaper, NEWS. The work she completed for the committee is featured in this collection and helps to paint a picture of patient neglect in Christie Street Hospital. Furthermore, her journalism and correspondence later reveals the unwillingness of the “Demobilization and Re-establishment Committee” to change plans to better support veterans' care.