The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia

Helena Gutteridge was born in England in 1879. A militant suffragist,tutored by the Pankhursts, she learned the politics of confrontationearly. Emigrating to Vancouver in 1911, she found the suffrage movementthere too polite and organized the B.C. Woman's Suffrage League tohelp working women fight for the vote. And she kept on organizing. As ajourneyman tailor she was a power in her union local, and as the onlywoman on the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council -- their 'rebelgirl' -- she championed the rights of workers and organized womento fight for themselves. In the 1930s, as a member of the feisty newpolitical movement, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, shejoined in the struggles of the unemployed for work and wages. Then, in1937, as the first woman ever elected to Vancouver City Council, sheled the fight for low-income housing. Irene Howard made it her task,over a period of years, to search out and assemble details ofHelena's life and career, and to interview old comrades who knewHelena and the turbulent times in which she lived. Herself aminer's daughter, the author brings to her subject an affectionateregard and sympathy qualified by the larger view of the scholar andresearcher. The result is a lively biography, shot through with humourand pathos, that pays homage to Helena Gutteridge and to many of thepeople who have been inspired by a cause and who have taught us aboutthe politics of caring.