Mr. Speaker, on October 12, 1999, I was honoured to be asked on behalf of the Minister of Canadian Heritage to unveil a historic sites and monuments plaque commemorating the importance of Women's College Hospital in providing medical services for women by women.
Women's College Hospital has always played a vital role in the community. Today's commemoration is a deserved recognition of the hospital's contribution to the women's movement, to the community, and to medicine.
The plaque reads:
Women's College Hospital has earned a distinctive place in Canadian medical history. From its beginnings as a small outpatient clinic in 1898 to its development as a modern teaching hospital, the institution symbolizes the struggle of women to claim their place in the medical profession. It offered them opportunities in teaching and in hospital practice, which were often unavailable or extremely limited elsewhere in the country. The hospital has made innovative contribution to the treatment and diagnosis of disease through its vital focus on health issues affecting women and families.
I would also like to thank Lindalee Tracy for the film Passing the Flame: The Legacy of Women's College Hospital .