441-00615 (Culture and heritage)

We, the undersigned citizens of Canada, would like to draw the attention of the House to the following:

The statue of Emily Murphy on Parliament Hill should be replaced. Emily Murphy was a racist and classist individual who should not be seen as a representation of women's suffrage or activism. She was vocal about her support of forced sterilisation and even went so far as to bring an appeal to the Alberta supreme court, resulting in over 2,800 people being sterilised against their will. There are dozens of documentations of her xenophobic viewpoints that she was not shy to share. Although Emily Murphy was instrumental in the Persons Case and allowing for women to be elected to the Senate, she should not be viewed as someone Canada is proud of. Many other Canadian women would be a much better monument of women's rights that should be explored.

Therefore, Citizens of Wellington-Halton Hills requests that parliament remove the statue of Emily Murphy on Parliament Hill to have it replaced with a Canadian woman that better upholds Canadian moral values.