First Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History student event unpacks the Persons case’s legacy
The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History (“Osgoode Society”) hosted a panel discussion on Monday, October 30 with attendees from all three law schools in Toronto. The event was intended to generate interest about the Osgoode Society among future lawyers. Almost 100 students and recent graduates of U of T Law, Osgoode Hall, and Lincoln Alexander Law attended the discussion, hosted in space provided by Torys LLP. There, they heard three panellists talk about the famous “Persons Case.” The Persons Case, Edwards v. Canada, held that women were persons for the purposes of the Canadian Constitution, and were eligible for appointment to the Senate.
The panel event marked the first Osgoode Society event marketed towards current law students, and all attendees received a free student membership to the society, alongside a copy of the Society’s featured book: Lori Chambers and Joan Sangster, eds., Essays in the History of Canadian Law Volume XII: New Essays in Women’s History. The Osgoode Society was founded in 1979 and has published 115 books on legal history in the last 44 years. Membership normally costs $75 a year and grants access to both the society’s events and a free copy of each year’s highlighted book. Student memberships are available at a discounted rate of $25, and anyone interested can join online to participate in the rest of the year’s events.
The event’s panellists included Justice Robert Sharpe, formerly of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and Professors Patricia McMahon and Sonia Lawrence, both academics at Osgoode. Sharpe and McMahon co-authored The Persons Case: The Origins and Legacy of the Fight for Legal Personhood, and, in their discussion, focused on the historical background behind the Persons Case and its subsequent legal implications. Professor Lawrence, who specializes in contemporary legal questions of equality and social justice, focused her comments on the contested role of the Famous Five—early advocates for political equality for white women, but also advocates of racist and discredited eugenic policies.
The panel discussion, which was moderated by Professor Philip Girard of Osgoode, filling in for U of T Law’s own Professor Jim Phillips, split its time between the long-term legacy of the Persons Case, and an attempt to ground the attendees’ understanding of the case in its historical context. Justice Sharpe and Professor McMahon were quick to point out that the case had no bearing on the legal status of women as persons for anything other than their ability to be appointed to the Senate, and explained that the case largely emerged because Emily Murphy, a member of the Famous Five, put pressure on two Prime Ministers, Robert Borden and William Lyon McKenzie King, asking that they appoint her to the Senate. After Borden refused on the grounds that she was ineligible under the Constitution, Murphy lobbied King to submit a reference to the Supreme Court, ultimately leading to Edwards v. Canada.
Another interesting comment from the panellists was that, despite the modern prominence of the case and its now famous conception of the Canadian constitution as a “living tree,” the case had limited immediate impact on the law of Canada until the Charter era, when it began to be referenced with greater frequency to justify a changing and flexible constitutional order and the steady expansion of Charter rights. Panellists stressed that while the Persons Case had less significance at the time than we ascribe to it today, it has now had a profound impact on the judiciary’s view of the Constitution, and assessing its legacy involves engaging with both the circumstances in which the reference emerged, and with how it has subsequently been used and interpreted.
After the panel discussion and questions from the audience, the event turned into a short meet-and-greet reception for students, the panellists, members of the Osgoode Society, and associates of Torys LLP.
For anyone who missed out on the event, or for attendees looking to hear more from the Osgoode Society, upcoming events can be found on their website and are open to new members. Additionally, the Osgoode Society’s student representatives at U of T Law, myself and Nina Patti (3L), will host school-specific events in the future alongside members of the Osgoode Society, where anyone is welcome to attend!
Jack Stewart is a student representative of the Osgoode Society at U of T Law.
