Photo of Leone Bagnall from her 2017 obituary: https://www.peicanada.com/island_deaths/bagnall-leone/article_aceb59ee-30c9-11e7-ae6b-cf1d025ea231.html
From 1975 to 1982, each Minister Responsible for the Status of Women was a man. In 1982, Leone Bagnall was appointed as the first female Minister Responsible for the Status of Women by Premier James Lee in 1982. She went on to become and was the first female Leader of the Official Opposition of any province in Canada.
An archived photo of Margaret Ashford from A Bakers Dozen profile of past Chairpersons of the PEIACSW.
In 1982, Margaret Ashford, who now lives in Australia, was the Chairperson of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She was pleased to send a letter of congratulations on Leone Bagnall’s appointment, as well as a letter of thanks to outgoing Minister Responsible Pat Binns.
In 1982, when Leone Bagnall was appointed as the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, Council Chairperson Margaret Ashford sent a letter of congratulations. We especially like that “Mrs.” is struck out to read “Ms.”
In 1982, the office staff at the Advisory Council at that time included Maureen Malloy, an executive assistant to the Chairperson and Council members, working four days a week, and the Council also received administative assistance from the PEI Human Rights Commission, Sherry Finley, and clerical assistance from Heather McKenna through the Department of Labour.
In 1982, the Council contributed services of its executive assistant to help the PEI Rape and Sexual Assault Crisis Centre establish its 24-hour crisis line and a public education program. Within the two year before, prior to Anderson House opening in 1981, for seven months, Council donated one day a week of the executive assistant’s time, and the Chairperson chaired the interim board of directors, until the first AGM of Transition House Association.
Some of the active issues in Council correspondence in 1982 included addressing sexist and dismissive comments in public speeches and events. In exciting community events, writer/publisher Libby Oughton and artist Hilda Woolnough mounted the Island Women’s Art Festival. The ACSW served on the committee to organize the Festival April 12-18 1982 and sponsored a panel on the “Politics of Women’s Art.” This would become the annual Women’s Festival of renown.
Council was continuing to monitor and make recommendations to eliminate sex stereotyping in textbooks, and also in school career counselling programs.
With the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution, lobbying was active for equality rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A news release at the time congratulated Island Tel on providing dual listings for two persions who share the same surname and residen in the same residence. “The Advisory Council had asked the Island Telephone Company to provide this service to the public since it is difficult to reach married women by telephone unless their husbands’ first names are known, which is unlikely and unnecessary in business contacts.”
In the Advisory Council’s column in Women’s Network’s Common Ground magazine, it was reported that 160 people took part in a “Women in the Island Economy” conference.
Photo from a Common Ground report on Council’s “Women in the Island Economy” conference in 1982.
A surprising number of letters to Minister Bagnall in 1983, her first full year as Minister Responsible, related to an unsuccessful request for Council to have its own typewriter.
