Feminist Comedian Sandra Shamas headlines a sold out Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) Annual Persons Day Event on October 26, 2017
Toronto, October 25, 2017 – On Thursday, October 26, 2017 in Toronto, over 600 professionals from the legal, business, labour and academic sectors will attend LEAF’s Annual Persons Day Evening Gala. The sold out event at Arcadian Court in downtown Toronto will feature a special performance from celebrated writer and performer, Sandra Shamas.
Ms. Shamas, who began her career with her original theatrical show, My Boyfriend’s Back and There’s Gonna Be Laundry in 1987, is headlining the Gala and is a strong supporter of one of Canada’s pre-eminent feminist legal organizations.
“It’s an honour to be speaking at this year’s Persons Day Evening Gala, in support of LEAF. The important work that LEAF does on behalf of the rights of women and girls in Canada on issues of wage disparity and reproductive rights, has my endless respect. As a performer, I’m happy that I can contribute to LEAF’s continuance,” Shamas said.
This event is LEAF’s largest fundraiser and the funds raised directly support the organization’s vital work in advancing substantive equality rights for women and girls in Canada through litigation, law reform and public education. LEAF’s interventions in countless high-profile cases before the Supreme Court of Canada since 1985 have not only shaped the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – they have shaped the national conversation.
The Persons Day Evening Gala is held annually to commemorate October 18, 1929, when the British Privy Council (then Canada’s highest court of appeal) ruled in Edwards v. Canada, known as the Persons Case, that women were to be considered persons under the law and should be eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate.
“LEAF commemorates, rather than celebrates, Persons Day because the 1929 Persons Case excluded Indigenous women, racialized women, and many other women as persons under the law. Persons Day reminds us that women are still not equal in Canada and there is work to be done,” LEAF Executive Director, Hailee Morrison, said.
“As a woman and a Canadian, I’m not just glad LEAF exists, I am relieved; it goes a long way towards my own peace of mind,” Shamas said.
About the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)
Since April 17, 1985, when equality rights were enshrined in sections 15 and 28 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, LEAF has worked toward equality for women and girls. LEAF intervenes in key cases to ensure that when courts interpret equality rights, there will be a systemic improvement in women’s lives. For more information about LEAF, visit leaf.ca.
For media inquiries, contact:
Hailee Morrison, Executive Director, LEAF
[email protected] 647 893 0541
