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On November 30, the Deputy Minister of Justice replied that the
proposed questions were unacceptable. First, he said, the only
power allowing admission into the Senate was conferred by the
BNA Act upon the Governor General. It was evident that the
exercise of that power rested on the interpretation of the word
“persons” in section 24. Therefore, the only relevant question
was to determine if this word included women. As for the other
two questions, he explained, the BNA Act does not confer any
power of amendment to the Parliament of Canada. Irene Parlby
(1878-1965), suffragette and politician. She was elected
president of the women’s branch of the U