Linda Kealey

Canadian Socialism and the Woman Question, 1900-1914

THIS PAPER EXAMINES WOMEN in the Canadian socialist movement to illuminate their role within the institutional life of the movement and to analyze the ideological dimensions of the woman question before 1914. Socialist adherence to the primacy of womans role in the home and to the family wage ideal, as well as their ambivalence toward working women, and an undeveloped vision of womans role under socialism — all served to reinforce a secondary role for women in socialist organizations. Suspicion of bourgeois womens organizations and of autonomous womens groups generally, hampered socialist women from assuming leadership roles with some notable exceptions. While socialist analysis pointed to the exploitation of women as both workers and wives and mothers, womens issues and organizations remained peripheral and subordinale to the main task of overthrowing capitalism. n n nLARTICLE PORTE SUR LES FEMMES dans le mouvement socialiste canadien; il vise a analyser leur role a linterieur du mouvement et a etudier la dimension ideologique des questions feminines avant 1914. Ladhesion des socialistes a lidee que le role de la femme se situe dabord a la maison et a lideal du salaire familial, aussi bien que leur ambivalence a legard du travail des femmes et le peu dinteret porte au role de la femme dans la societe socialiste — tous ces elements renforcent le role secondaire des femmes dans les organisations socialistes. Leur mefiance envers les associations de femmes bourgeoises et les groupes autonomes de femmes empeche generalement les femmes socialistes, a peu dexceptions pres, dassumer un role de leadership. Quoique les travaux des socialistes mettent en relief lexploitation des femmes comme travailleuses, epouses et meres, les questions feminines restent marginales et subordonnees a lobjectif principal, soit le renversement du capitalisme.

Women and Wage Labour in Australia and Canada, 1880-1980

A CENTURY of women’s work history in Australia and Canada reveals both similarities and contrasts. Women workers in both countries have faced persistent occupational segregation and lower pay, just...

Beyond the Vote: Canadian Women and Politics

criminal cases. A young solicitor-general of Lower Canada, he was later appointed senator by Sir John A. Macdonald and succeeded him as the third prime minister ofCanada. Abbott followed Badgley asdean of the McGill Law School, and was also a founder of the Fraser-Hickson Library and of the Royal Victoria Hospital. In highlighting Badgleys and Abbotts careers, the authors demonstrate effectively their thesis that to be a top-flight lawyer in the nineteenth century, one had to be interested and involved in business, politics and the community. Success begat success. As Montreal grew, so did the firm, by attracting a steady and increasing stream of gold medalists a articling students. But as the twentieth century progressed, the direct link with politics was broken and the era of specialization began. The firm came to act predominantly in commercial and corporate law and partners became experts in a particular subject marine law, tax law, trust law. There was also a specialization i function: juniors interviewed clients and, in effect, drew up a brief in manner similar to an English solicitor. Then, like an English barrister, a senior partner acted as counsel in any subsequent action. Over the years these cases covered a wide spectrum, from defending the Confederate soldiers who raided the northern states from bases in Quebec in •864 to acting for Iran before the United States-Iran Arbitration Tribunal in • 986. Description of such cases is one of the best features of the book because the authors are good storytellers who eschew the use of legal terminology. There are a few errors. J.J.C. Abbott was solicitor-general of Lower Canada, not attorney-general (•5); prohibition i the United States began in •9•o, not •927 (70); it was the RCMP, not the Royal Canadian Military Police, that chased and caught a stolen ship. But these are minor faults, and Slinn and Mitchell are to be commended for producing a readable and informative institutional history which will be a welcome addition to the legal historians library. DESMOND BROWN University of Alberta