Royal Commission on the Status of Women
I became involved [in the Women�s Movement] as I was reading the Royal Commission Report. I would sit in bed reading it at night and I would continually say to my husband, �Can you believe that �� and I would quote off something from the report � like �women make half as much as men doing the same work�� Things like that. I was just blown away by the report.
The Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada was set up on February 16, 1967 by the Prime Minister to �inquire into� the status of women in Canada� to ensure for women equal opportunities with men in all aspects of Canadian society.� To do this, the Royal Commission held hearings in 14 cities across Canada (including St. John�s), commissioned research studies, and reviewed approximately 1000 letters of opinion and 468 briefs from Canadians. Six of these briefs came from women�s groups and individuals in Newfoundland and Labrador: the St. John�s branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women; the Association of Registered Nurses; the Newfoundland Home Economics Association; Dorothy Wyatt, Ella Manuel, and Doris Janes.
The results of the Royal Commission�s efforts were 167 recommendations in a report that was presented to the House of Commons on December 7, 1970. These recommendations dealt with a range of issues including housing, daycare, sexual stereotyping, and labour standards � including counselling that Newfoundland (along with PEI and Nova Scotia) change its legislation to ensure that women received the same minimum wage as men did.
The Royal Commission�s report helped focus the energy of many Canadian women and more formal feminist women�s groups began to form. One of these was the Newfoundland Status of Women Council (later known as the St. John�s Status of Women Council), which grew out of a 1972 meeting of women in St. John�s who were interested in discussing the Royal Commission�s recommendations.