►
From YouTube: MARCH 8 2021 Statements Karin Kirkpatrick
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
1st Session
42nd Parliament
A
A
When
I
was
a
young
woman,
I
didn't
understand
the
sacrifices
that
the
women
that
came
before
me
had
made,
or
how
brave
they
were
for
not
giving
up
their
dreams
when
they
were
told
they
shouldn't
or
couldn't
do
something.
The
first
international
women's
day
was
in
1911
when
the
suffragette
movement
was
in
full
force.
It
was
believed
at
that
time
that
securing
the
right
to
vote
and
be
elected
to
public
office
would
be
the
only
way
to
bring
around
required
improvements
for
women
and
children
in
social
and
economic
conditions.
A
In
those
times,
women's
expected
roles
in
society
were
limited
to
domestic
pursuits.
Although
women
did
work
outside
the
home,
it
was
often
out
of
economic
necessity
and
when
they
did,
they
had
low
wages,
very
poor
working
conditions
and
even
violence.
Women
were
considered
by
many
to
be
less
rational
and
more
emotional
than
men.
In
fact,
we
were
prone
to
bouts
of
hysteria,
so
why
on
earth
should
women
have
the
right
to
vote
or
the
right
to
hold
office?
A
Society
would
be
in
chaos.
It
was
not
until
april
of
12
1917
that
bc
granted
the
right
to
vote
and
run
for
office
in
provincial
elections
in
1918,
mary
ellen
smith
became
the
first
female
member
of
the
legislative
assembly
in
1991.
Rita
johnson
was
the
first
woman
ever
elected
as
the
premier
of
british
columbia
in
1993,
kim
campbell
became
the
first
and
only
woman
to
hold
the
office
of
prime
minister
of
canada.
A
Now
these
may
have
been
short
terms,
but
they
were
significant,
so
women
like
mary
ellen
smith,
rosemary
brown,
kim
campbell,
rita
johnson,
grace
mccarthy,
christy
clark,
shirley
bond
carol,
james
and
so
many
others
that
I've
missed
have
opened
the
door
for
the
rest
of
us
to
sit
in
this
house
today.
So
thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.