1993 Recipients

Claire Bonenfant
Sillery, Quebec

As president of the Conseil du statut de la femme du Québec from 1978 to 1984, she oversaw the implementation of the Quebec government's first policy on the status of women, and was responsible for establishing the Conseil's regional consultation mechanisms across the province. She has focussed considerable effort in the areas of sexism in advertising and employment equity. Substantial numbers of women have been the beneficiaries of her devotion to the advancement of women's equality.

Lorna V. de Blicquy
Dunrobin, Ontario

A pioneering woman pilot, she has logged many hours in efforts to advance the status of women in aviation. She was the first woman to fly commercially in the high Arctic and Canada's first female civil aviation flight test inspector. Through her persistence as an outspoken advocate of women's rights, and through her example, she has opened many doors for women seeking careers and advancement in the aviation industry.

Joan Jones
Halifax, Nova Scotia

A long-time champion of the needs and interests of women who are lone parents, and a tireless community leader, she was instrumental in founding a youth centre, a community child-care centre and an inner-city tenants association which supports family-oriented housing. Through her civil rights activism and her advocacy of the interests of black women, she has been the catalyst for equality initiatives in many spheres of society.

Marie-Claire Kirkland
Rothesay, New Brunswick

The first woman elected to Quebec's National Assembly, in 1961, she was also the first woman appointed to the Quebec Cabinet, in 1962, where she served with distinction in four portfolios. She was responsible for the legislation which gave married women equal rights under the Quebec Civil Code and introduced for first reading the bill which created the Conseil du statut de la femme du Québec. Upon her retirement from politics, she became the first woman appointed as a judge of the Provincial Court of Quebec.

Mary Rocan
Regina, Saskatchewan

Through her paid employment and her volunteer efforts, she has broken considerable ground in the cause of women's labour force equality. During the course of a distinguished career with the Saskatchewan Department of Labour, she was a determined proponent of women's employment rights, including minimum wages, equal pay and maternity leave. A member of the 1973 two-person provincial task force related to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, she oversaw the Saskatchewan government's efforts to change discriminatory laws and regulations.

Date modified:

2015-04-27