7/11/2010 5:54:50 PM

July 8, 2010

City announces recipients of 2010 Constance E. Hamilton Award

The women members of City Council are pleased to announce that Cindy Cowan, Tam Goossen and Tonika Morgan are the 2010 recipients of Toronto City Council’s Persons Day Award. The award is named after Constance Easton Hamilton, who in 1920 became the first woman elected to a municipal council in Toronto. The recipients will be recognized at the City's annual Human Rights Awards ceremony later this year.

“The leadership and advocacy work by these women has made great strides in improving the lives of women and families in our city," said Councillor Pam McConnell (Ward 28 Toronto Centre-Rosedale), speaking on behalf of the women members of City Council who select the recipients of the Constance Hamilton Award. "Although there have been significant advances towards gender equity, the work is not done. The achievements of these women continue to be an inspiration to us all."

The three recipients:
Cindy Cowan - to recognize her advocacy efforts and her leadership role in providing services aimed at improving the lives of the most marginalized women in the city
Tam Goossen - to recognize a lifetime of leadership, advocacy and public service addressing the many dimensions of inequality
Tonika Morgan - to recognize her dedication in addressing the social and economic barriers faced by women, and for her efforts to engage youth in civic life

Throughout her life, Constance Easton Hamilton was a social justice advocate who championed women’s suffrage and refugee issues as well as agricultural and assessment reforms, employment standards, public transit and hydro, and a well funded library system. The award named in her honour recognizes "persons" whose actions have been significant in securing the equitable treatment of women in Toronto.

In 1979, Toronto City Council established the Constance Hamilton Award to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Persons Case. In 1929, the Privy Council declared that women were “persons” - a decision that allowed women to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and to be included in all aspects of public life.

More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/civicawards/hamilton_award.htm.