Rideau Hall, Friday, November 7, 2008

It would be wrong to downplay the efforts of women to gain their freedom and fight for their rights as a mere battle of the sexes.

Thank you for being here.

I would like to begin by welcoming the Honourable Helena Guergis, Minister of State (Status of Women). Madame, we are delighted to have you here today.

I like to say that our struggle for equality is not just a woman’s struggle; it is the struggle of every person who demands respect, justice and dignity.

Every movement to bring about profound social change eventually comes up against opposition in favour of the status quo. Just look at the Persons Case, which inspired the award we are presenting today.

By ensuring that women would henceforth be recognized as people entitled to civil rights, the “Famous Five,” led by Emily Murphy, empowered women to make decisions for themselves and to take action to make society more just and more tolerant.

Imagine the daring, the nerve, the perseverance, the conviction it took to achieve such a landmark victory, at a time when women were kept out of public life, confined to the only role they had ever been given, in the home.

“The world . . . gives way to a strenuous kicker,” declared Emily Murphy.

May I say that you are those kickers, casting off the shackles, shaking up our old habits and compelling us to forge ahead.

Behind the five women being honoured today, there is a battle being waged.

A battle for our children to have decent living conditions and enough food to eat.

A battle for our families to be a safe refuge, free from violence and abuse.

A battle for our Aboriginal communities to be rid at long last of the scars of history, to reclaim their identity and take their future into their own hands.

A battle for half of this country’s population to be able to shape its course and keep moving forward.

A battle for all human beings—men and women—to attain freedom.

Why do women wage such battles, armed with the courage and stubbornness we know so well?

Why do they dare to rise up in the face of persistent, systemic inequality?

Why, in many regions of the world, do they risk their very lives to do this?

Because today as yesterday, all over the world, they are the ones who suffer the most from poverty; they are the ones who suffer the most from conflicts, injustices, abuses, oppression, violence, and a lack of education and opportunities.

And, unfortunately, there are statistics to prove this.

Even in our modern societies, what so many women continue to face within their families, the community, and the job market shows that we have still not achieved equality.

It was not so very long ago that the Famous Five were victorious. Two generations, at most. In other words, our progress is recent and still so very fragile.

You know as well as I do that we must be vigilant.

We must not be satisfied with simply walking the path to equality; we must extend it even further.

Alongside the five women we are honouring today—Shelagh Day, France Ennis, Beverley Jacobs, Maureen McTeer and Maïr Verthuy—stands a young man—Benjamin Barry—who is receiving the youth award for doing his part to extend that path.

He has taken positive, determined action to undo stereotypes and redefine society’s idea of beauty. He is even one of the minds behind Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty.

This young man has taken an innovative approach to his business—and a very successful business at that—while fully assuming his civic responsibility.

The fact that a young man is being honoured for having advanced the status of women is a first in the history of this award.

I believe that this speaks volumes about the changes in the way people think and the progress that has been made.

I believe that this speaks volumes about what our country’s youth can do to remedy injustices through a spirit of solidarity.

I believe that the openness of our young people to the realities of this world, that their willingness to find innovative solutions to the issues facing us today stem in part from the example we have set and the efforts that we have shared with them.

Each and every one of us here today wants our children and our youth, our girls and our boys, to inherit a world where respect is valued above all else.

And so do they. Therein lies our hope.

My mother always said that education begins in the cradle. Civic education begins in the cradle. Awareness of the equality between men and women also begins in the cradle. I believe, dear Benjamin, that you are living proof that our mothers and sisters did not wage that battle in vain.

To know true equality, where differences are respected.

Thanks to you, this is no longer just a dream, but a possible, achievable, and promising future.

But more than that, it is an ongoing responsibility.

On behalf of all Canadians—women and men alike—I thank you.