Famous Five Statues on Parliament Hill Motion
Until 2000, there had been no presence of Women on Parliament Hill. The tradition had been that dead former prime ministers and monarchs were the only eminent who could qualify for a Hill statue. The exception was a handful of ancient statues of 19th-Century Fathers of Confederation.
This had to be changed. In 1997, Jean, as Chair of the Women’s Caucus, worked to get that rescinded. Through parliamentary maneuvers over an entire day, she finally got a motion unanimously passed, which led to the placement of the Famous Five Statues on Parliament Hill.
The statue of the five women reading about and celebrating their victory marks the first women to be honoured with Parliament Hill statues. Among other things, the five women (Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards) fought for women’s legal rights, the right to vote, the right to own property, and the right to hold the same positions as men.
More information at: https://openparliament.ca/debates/1997/12/11/jean-augustine-1/only/