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00:12What exactly is a young lady doing alone in this part of town?
00:16I work at the candy factory across the world.
00:18It closed two hours ago.
00:20There's no place to be loitering after work.
00:22Only waiting for my friend, Miss.
00:31Exactly what type of friend are you waiting for?
00:34My friend, Jane.
00:37And you won't mind if I wait here with you?
00:40Well, she may be a while, Miss.
00:44I have nothing better to do.
00:57Oh, don't even think about making a run for it.
01:06With me, take cover behind the carriage.
01:11Don't move.
01:26What happened?
01:28I don't know.
01:29But it looks like someone's been shot.
01:48The man with the valise came out that door.
01:50The carriage arrived, blocking our view.
01:52Then, bang, when I came over to see what had happened, he was gone.
01:57Anything else?
01:58Uh, I think I heard something coming from the alley here, right before the gunshot.
02:04Maybe a car?
02:07And you, Miss?
02:09Camille Gauthier.
02:10I saw Mr. Ambrose coming out of the factory, but nothing more.
02:13Mr. Ambrose?
02:15Yes, sir.
02:16It's my employer.
02:18Just what were you doing waiting outside of the factory?
02:23I, she's a working girl.
02:26She claimed she was waiting for a friend, but if there's nothing else, detective, I'm afraid
02:32I'm obligated to charge Miss Pochi here with vagrancy.
02:36Thank you both.
02:39Sir?
02:42The missing man is a Godfrey Ambrose.
02:45He was taking the week's receipts to the bank, as he did every Friday.
02:47It was over a thousand dollars, sir.
02:50That certainly would establish motive.
02:52Now, the carriage driver, he didn't see what happened, but he says there was an automobile
02:56idling here in the alley.
02:58Oh, well, that could explain the sound that Miss Berger heard.
03:02One more thing, sir.
03:04There was a photographer working on a news story about the factory conditions.
03:07He thinks he got a photograph of Mr. Ambrose just before the gunshot.
03:11Oh, very good.
03:19Camille Gauthier?
03:20Yes.
03:21I am Effie Nearsom.
03:22I'm with the Crown Attorney's Office.
03:24I've been assigned to provide your defense.
03:28You're a lawyer.
03:30That's right.
03:32I didn't know there were any lady lawyers.
03:35Well, I have read over your case.
03:38You claimed you were meeting a friend.
03:41Yes.
03:43But that friend never arrived.
03:48Is Mr. Ambrose all right?
03:50I'm sorry.
03:51I don't know anything about that.
03:53But the Crown has no proof of your intentions.
03:56Whoever you were meeting.
03:58Don't worry.
03:59I'll provide you with a good defense.
04:06Miss Camille Gauthier, your name is on the vagrancy list.
04:11That means you have formally been arrested for the crime of solicitation.
04:15Is that correct?
04:17Yes.
04:18Please describe for the court the circumstances under which this previous arrest took place.
04:26I...
04:37I met a man who paid me money to join him in his automobile.
04:41And then what?
04:43You want me to say?
04:45Yes, Miss Gauthier.
04:46Please answer my question.
04:48The Crown has the witness, Miss Newsome.
04:55Miss Gauthier, the circumstances of your arrest?
05:02He took me into the cabin of his automobile and gave me $2.
05:07He had promised me $4, so I argued with him until he gave me the rest.
05:13Then he raised my dress and he said something crude and began to remove my hair.
05:23What did he say?
05:24Your Honor, my learned friend is pursuing a line of questioning immaterial to the case at hand.
05:30Nobody in this courtroom needs to hear these details.
05:32Past transgressions are material to the character and intent of the defendant, Miss Newsome.
05:37However, I do agree with you that the details are rather sordid.
05:42I don't feel right allowing them to be related in mixed company.
05:46I beg your pardon?
05:47I am suspending this hearing until more suitable counsel can be assigned to Miss Gauthier.
05:52I am suitable counsel.
05:54The details of this case are not fit for a lady's ears, Miss Newsome.
05:59You're dismissed.
06:03It's completely ridiculous.
06:05She was assigned another lawyer, a male lawyer.
06:08You were acting as defense counsel?
06:10Yes, I've fallen out of favor with the Crown Attorney's Office and I've been assigned an endless pile of public
06:15defense cases.
06:16But never mind that.
06:17This whole thing is an outrage.
06:20Though unsurprising.
06:22What?
06:22Doesn't this upset you?
06:24This is a case of sex discrimination, plain and simple.
06:27I hardly have time to be upset every time I face an instance of sex discrimination.
06:31You should write about it.
06:33Write about what?
06:34The fact that an injustice has been carried out by the courts.
06:37This is unfair to me as a lawyer and unfair to my client.
06:41This kind of thing is an everyday occurrence.
06:43Just because something's unfair doesn't mean there's anything that can be done about it.
06:51What have you, Henry?
06:55Sir, how did you...
06:57I went to Mr. Ambrose's house and spoke to his wife.
07:00She's worried sick, sir.
07:01His description has been sent to the hospitals and station houses across the city, but nothing yet.
07:07Very good.
07:12Sir, that's Mr. Ambrose.
07:14I saw a photo of him at his house.
07:17Unfortunately, we can't see much else.
07:19It's odd that the overexposure is so uneven.
07:23Perhaps when the camera fell, sir.
07:25Yes, any amount of light entering the case could cause this.
07:29Henry, I need you to go to the chemist and get a pint of ferrocyanide.
07:33Cyanide?
07:35Uh, ferrocyanide, sir, also known as farmer's reducer.
07:38It can help to correct exposure, if it isn't too overexposed.
07:43Would that really work?
07:46It might.
07:48I agree with you.
07:51Women should not be banished from a courtroom in which women are being tried.
07:55So, will you censure the judge and demand I be reinstated?
07:58Well, that would cause problems.
08:01Judges get rather upset when the attorney general forces their hand.
08:05I fear it would only serve to bias him against you and your clients.
08:10So, what do we do?
08:12I'm not sure there's anything we can do.
08:16Establish a new court.
08:18Beg your pardon?
08:19A women's court.
08:21To try women presided over by a woman.
08:24An extreme measure, don't you think?
08:26Not at all.
08:27It's perfectly reasonable that a woman be tried by a jury of her peers,
08:31and in this case, her peers are not men.
08:35All right.
08:37Really?
08:39Why not?
08:40Let's say we do.
08:43Who's going to be the magistrate?
08:48You.
08:49You're going to be a judge.
08:50That's right.
08:51The first female judge to preside over a court in Canadian history.
08:55A woman's court.
08:57Now that's a story.
09:00The ferrocyanide did help.
09:03I also improved the definition by using finer paper stock and a contrast filter.
09:09It worked.
09:10You can see the gunman now.
09:12Is he wearing a mask?
09:15We now have a picture of our assailant.
09:18But who is he?
09:24Detective?
09:27This is Mrs. Ambrose.
09:29Is there any news of my husband?
09:31We have nothing to report yet, I'm afraid, Mrs. Ambrose.
09:34Well, Mrs. Ambrose has found something.
09:36He usually wears his overcoat, but it was too warm.
09:40When I went through it, I found this.
09:44It's a receipt for a jeweler's.
09:47Dated last week.
09:49Whatever he bought, he never gave it to me.
09:51Perhaps he was robbed for it.
09:54We'll look into this.
09:56Thank you, Mrs. Ambrose.
09:57Please, find him.
09:58He's all I have.
10:00Of course.
10:02That's right.
10:06Henry.
10:08I have another job for you.
10:10Yes, sir.
10:13There's nothing in this photograph to help us identify the masked man.
10:17But look at the automobile's wheel.
10:20One of the spokes is different, sir.
10:22It was broken and then repaired.
10:25Perhaps a local auto shop will recall making this repair?
10:28Sir.
10:34Miss Newsom.
10:36Congratulations.
10:37I heard about your women's court.
10:40I didn't expect you to be in support of the idea, Miss Berger.
10:44Of course.
10:46The courts should allow women to be judged and defended by women,
10:50much as my work helps to protect women.
10:53That's a very modern view.
10:57Now that you're a judge, I hope you will continue to work with me in good faith to uphold the
11:01law.
11:02Which laws are we talking about?
11:04You cannot pick and choose which laws you enforce.
11:08No, but my interpretation of those laws may differ from yours.
11:12Do you really think it was the right thing to do to arrest that young woman?
11:16That it was just?
11:18Yes.
11:19She was in violation of the law.
11:21Let's imagine that she was guilty of precisely that with which you charged her.
11:25She could be sentenced to six months at the Mercer Reformatory,
11:28after which, if she had no family to be remanded to,
11:30they could keep her there for the rest of her life.
11:34It is my job to enforce...
11:36The rest of her life.
11:39When a man engaging in the very same liaison for which she was convicted
11:43would be subject to no more than a fine.
11:45At most.
11:46First, I ask you, Miss Berger,
11:50what is just about that?
12:03Sir, I don't get it.
12:04What do women need a separate court for?
12:07Perhaps they feel the male judges lack the feminine perspective.
12:10Well, maybe I should get to choose who my judge is, too.
12:17All the judges in this country already look like you, Henry.
12:21I've seen many Asians suffer from the bias of the American justice system.
12:25It's what made me want to become a policeman myself.
12:29All right.
12:30Well, then I'm all for it.
12:32But this is going to be a mess, sir.
12:34I'm already hearing there are protests all over the city.
12:36There's no such thing as a bloodless revolution.
12:39You and the lads will be out in force.
12:41Just remember, there's nothing wrong with protests.
12:44Just keep the peace.
12:51Ready for lunch?
12:53Why are you printing this drivel?
12:57I'm reporting your story.
12:59That is not my story.
13:00You've written up the reactionary opinions of backwards-thinking old men.
13:05The new court is one part of the story, and the opinions of those who don't care for it is
13:10another.
13:11It is the responsibility of a journalist to publish the truth.
13:14There isn't a word in there that isn't true.
13:17This is what people are saying.
13:18Just because people are saying it doesn't make it true.
13:21And by giving yet another voice to these people, you're bolstering an opinion which you know to be fundamentally untrue.
13:27That women are lesser than men.
13:29By the end of the week, every newspaper in the country will be running the same story.
13:34So?
13:35You're an independent publisher.
13:36You have an opportunity to do something different.
13:39Hate me if you want.
13:40But if you can't handle this, you're in trouble.
13:43What are you talking about?
13:44This isn't about some humanitarian errand to help a young girl out.
13:48You're about to be a judge.
13:50You'll be the face of women's rights in this country.
13:52The attacks you're about to endure are far greater than anything I've written here.
13:58Are you ready for that?
14:03All right.
14:04Thanks for coming.
14:06Put it on the back of the car!
14:08Mind your own business!
14:10Oi!
14:10That's enough.
14:11Move along.
14:16Women's demand is nothing.
14:18Yes.
14:19Moving on!
14:20All right!
14:22Women's demand is nothing.
14:23Women's demand is nothing.
14:24Women's demand is nothing.
14:24Women's demand is nothing.
14:42Thank you, Violet.
14:44I didn't realize being the first female judge in Canada would make me such a villain.
14:49Not just the first in Canada.
14:51You'll be the first in the British Empire.
14:53Louise was right.
14:54I don't know if I can handle this.
14:56I'll be the most hated woman in the country.
14:59And the most admired.
15:02Perhaps this was all a mistake.
15:05It's not often one gets a chance to break new ground.
15:08For most people, the door is simply closed.
15:12And it might always remain that way.
15:15There's a chance for women to make progress because of you.
15:20Don't walk away from that.
15:26A brooch.
15:28Did the man purchase it for his wife?
15:30He did.
15:31Or his fiancée, perhaps?
15:33I didn't inquire.
15:35I remember it because he asked me for a brooch with a specific flower.
15:38I had a rose in stock, but no.
15:40He had me order this in specially.
15:42What kind of flower?
15:44A camellia.
15:56Miss Newsom?
15:58Congratulations, Iron Order.
15:59You found a clever shortcut to the bench, didn't you?
16:02Another instance of you getting special treatment due to your sex.
16:06Special treatment?
16:07You mean like the special treatment you received when you jumped the queue past your more qualified
16:11colleague to become deputy crown attorney?
16:13You're more experienced, perhaps, but not more qualified.
16:17We'll have to agree to disagree on that point.
16:19That we will.
16:21See you on the battlefield, Your Honor.
16:28A brooch.
16:30A camellia, to be precise.
16:33It's rather similar to your Christian name.
16:38Did you have an intimate relationship with Mr. Ambrose?
16:42No.
16:43No, of course not.
16:45I need you to be honest with me.
16:47It could be crucial to Mr. Ambrose's safety and well-being.
16:57We had an arrangement.
17:00I work in his factory, but the wages aren't much.
17:06Our meetings earned me more than my salary.
17:12He is the one who gave you the brooch.
17:16Yes.
17:17I sold it the next day for $15.
17:20It was a godsend.
17:22My mother is infirm and my sister is too young to work.
17:26So it was Mr. Ambrose that you were waiting for that day?
17:33Miss Gauthier.
17:39If they find out, I'll be sent to the Mercer.
17:42I know of a girl who was sent to wait just for letting a man buy her a drink.
17:47All my family do without my wages.
17:50I am not a morality officer, so unless any of this information is pertinent to a prosecution,
17:57no one outside of this cell will hear a word of it.
18:06I was waiting for him, yes.
18:09Like you had several times before.
18:15Was there anything different about this time?
18:21Usually he would slip me a note at work when he wanted to meet.
18:25This time he had a telegram delivered to my home.
18:31What exactly did the telegram say?
18:35He said that he wanted to see me again, but that it might be the last time.
18:41I found a mechanic who remembers fixing the broken wheel.
18:45He's sure it's the same automobile as in the photograph.
18:47Does he remember anything about the man who brought it in?
18:49He had the license number in his logbook.
18:52From that, I found the sales history.
18:53It was purchased second-hand from a used auto lot last week.
18:56Last week? By whom?
18:58Godfrey Ambrose.
18:59The missing man.
19:01Maybe the gunman stole it from him and then used it for the kidnapping?
19:05Maybe.
19:07Or perhaps Mr. Ambrose knew that the carriage would be here,
19:12obstructing the view of the alley from any bystanders near the entrance.
19:17His co-conspirator and the car were already in the alley.
19:22He fired the shot and the two of them left in the automobile.
19:25But what about the blood?
19:27A ruse.
19:28To distract us from Mr. Ambrose's true intention.
19:31To steal the money.
19:33We knew he was planning to leave town.
19:35Mr. Ambrose kidnapped himself.
20:02All persons having business before this court, give their attention.
20:06For the court will now hear the case of the crown and Gautier.
20:10God save the king.
20:13Please be seated.
20:20The court invites the crown to proceed.
20:22Thank you, Your Honor.
20:26I'm afraid the crown cannot proceed in good conscience.
20:30Is the crown dismissing the case?
20:32No, Your Honor.
20:34Rather, we present a court order signed by Judge Calder of the Superior Court.
20:40A court order?
20:43Yes.
20:44An order insisting upon the closure of this court.
20:48I beg your pardon?
20:50What's going on?
20:51I don't know.
20:52You didn't see fit to mention this outside?
20:55That wouldn't have been any fun.
20:58As you know, Miss Newsom, the British North America Act, which articulates the laws of this land, declares that in
21:06order to hold elected office or sit as a judge, one must be a qualified person.
21:13Meaning what?
21:14In the act, persons are consistently referred to as he.
21:18Are you saying I'm not a person?
21:21That's exactly what I'm saying.
21:24That's an absurd interpretation.
21:26It is the law.
21:28And Judge Calder agrees.
21:31Women are not considered persons and therefore cannot sit as judges.
21:37By virtue of this order, this court is hereby closed.
21:51How can they possibly claim that women are not people?
21:55Persons.
21:55It's a legal term.
21:56Well, we need to take action.
21:58No one who hears of this will think it reasonable.
22:00People will come out in droves to support you.
22:03It will bring out the naysayers as well.
22:05That's true.
22:06This whole situation is a tinderbox.
22:08Good.
22:09We need to burn down what exists to build something new.
22:11It's dangerous.
22:12Scores of suffragettes here and abroad have been injured in skirmishes with police and counterprotesters.
22:17We can't let that deter us.
22:19The more we fight, the more they know of our fight.
22:21A superior court judge decided on this interpretation and his court order stands.
22:27So we just accept that?
22:28You said it yourself.
22:30Just because something isn't fair doesn't mean there's anything to be done.
22:33There's always something to be done if someone's willing to do it.
22:39My husband has run off?
22:42There is significant circumstantial evidence suggesting as much.
22:46He bought the automobile that the supposed kidnapper was driving.
22:50Likely with a friend or an accomplice he hired to help him fake the kidnapping.
22:56Our marriage has had a share of problems.
22:59But he would never.
23:01Without even telling me?
23:03Without telling anyone?
23:06He did tell someone.
23:08Or at least tried to.
23:11Who?
23:12Your husband was carrying on a liaison.
23:14A woman that was working at his factory.
23:18She was attempting to meet up with him on that day, but was waylaid by the morality officer.
23:25We looked into the financial details of your husband's candy business, Mrs. Ambrose.
23:29It was struggling.
23:31Creditors, loans.
23:32Your husband was fleeing a sinking ship.
23:35No.
23:36That was my father's company.
23:38It was worth a great deal when he passed.
23:39I'm afraid that's not the case anymore.
23:42What am I going to do?
23:47You knew this was going to happen.
23:49I knew there was a legal argument there, and I expected someone to make it eventually.
23:53So why did we go through with this charade?
23:55I didn't think it would happen on day one.
23:58I thought we could do a little good and get some attention.
24:02Attention?
24:04So what, you only wanted your name in the law books?
24:06What's wrong with that?
24:08I'm about to retire.
24:09We all deserve a legacy of some kind.
24:12I'm on your side, Miss Newsome.
24:16But those that seek to stop us are correct.
24:19They are not correct.
24:21Just because the Act uses the word he, in some instances, doesn't mean that its use of the word persons
24:26excludes women.
24:27That is the accepted reading.
24:29Accepted by whom?
24:30The courts.
24:32It is the law.
24:34The law can change.
24:35The law is not a stone.
24:37It's a living thing.
24:39A tree that grows and expands to protect the people it serves.
24:44It is a good argument and well worth making.
24:47But this is beyond my purview, Miss Newsome.
24:51If you want to challenge the interpretation of the British North America Act,
24:54that's a battle that has to be won in the courts.
25:04Miss Berger?
25:07Is everything all right?
25:09Yes.
25:16Detective, have you ever been confronted with a discrepancy between the law and what you know in your heart to
25:25be right?
25:28I apologize.
25:29It's a silly question.
25:33No.
25:34No, it's not, Miss Berger.
25:35I have been faced with that very discrepancy many times.
25:40But we must follow the law regardless of our personal feelings.
25:44It is our job to enforce the law.
25:47As members of the constabulary, we hope the law fairly represents the people we are sworn to protect.
25:56But that is not always the case.
26:01Ignoring the letter of the law may come with grave consequences, but that can also be true of following it.
26:10But in law, just as in life, only you can navigate your course.
26:39Sir, wait, wait.
26:41Turn off the engine.
26:42I need to ask you where you got this automobile.
26:48Same mended wheel?
26:49It's the same automobile, sir.
26:51He says he bought it just this morning.
26:53The seller was supposedly Godfrey Ambrose, but the man did not match Ambrose's description.
26:57Perhaps Mr. Ambrose's co-conspirator, the man who fired the gun outside of the factory.
27:04Why sell it now?
27:08There's clay on these tires.
27:12Still quite fresh.
27:15Did the new owner happen to mention taking this car off of the road?
27:19He says he only drove it a few blocks, sir.
27:21The type of clay found on the automobile is very common to our surrounding areas.
27:27But it is not fully desiccated, meaning the automobile drove through one of these areas very recently.
27:35Where do we begin our search?
27:37There is silica dust in this.
27:40It's a byproduct of brick forming.
27:42Brick work, sir.
27:43There is a clay deposit very near to that.
27:47It is my belief that the automobile drove off of the road in this part of the Don Valley in
27:54the past 24 hours.
27:57Sir, I think I found something.
28:03Tire tracks.
28:05Oh, very good.
28:06We're quite a ways from the main road.
28:08These are definitely fresh.
28:20Henry.
28:24Help!
28:25Help!
28:27Help!
28:30Help!
28:49We'll get you looked after as soon as we get back to the city.
28:54Thank God. Thank God.
28:57How long have you been out of here?
29:00I don't know.
29:01I suspect I already know, but can you tell me your name?
29:06Well, I'm Godfrey Ambrose.
29:09Haven't you been looking for me?
29:14We need a new space.
29:16What's going on?
29:19I've quit my job.
29:20You've quit?
29:22What are you going to do?
29:24I've taken a bit of a leap.
29:25I'm going to dedicate myself to something new,
29:27which is why I need a space for half a dozen lawyers to work for the next few weeks.
29:32I have a room upstairs.
29:33I was renting it out, but it's empty now.
29:36You can have it if you'd like.
29:37Perfect.
29:38Stop burying the lead and tell us what you're planning.
29:39I filed a lawsuit which challenges the interpretation that women are not persons.
29:44I'm going to be arguing in front of the Supreme Court of Ontario.
29:53He was wearing a mask.
29:55He came toward me with a gun.
29:57I panicked and stumbled.
29:58He held up the gun.
29:59He struck me with it.
30:01He didn't fire at you?
30:03No.
30:03I heard the gunshot as he hit me.
30:05The gun must have gone off errantly.
30:07I woke up sometime later.
30:10It was dark.
30:11I was in the luggage compartment of an automobile.
30:15We drove.
30:17Eventually, he let me out at the shack where you found me.
30:20There will be a manhunt.
30:22Are you all right to sit with a police artist?
30:24Of course.
30:27Maybe the kidnapper was biding his time before making his ransom to man.
30:30But for weeks, it takes a lot of work to confine a man for that long.
30:35There has to be another reason behind it.
30:38Well, compare the sketch of Mr. Ambrose's kidnapper to the description of the man who sold the car this morning.
30:45Sirs, look at this.
30:47The Supreme Court.
30:48This is going to be trouble.
30:49I saw.
30:50There are demonstrations outside of Queen's Park already.
30:53I don't like it one bit, sir.
30:55Men and women are at war.
30:57If things are inviolate, those ladies won't stand a chance.
30:59No, I don't know about that, Constable.
31:01The women are the ones fighting for the rights.
31:03So?
31:05People with something to fight for often fight with desperation.
31:08They'll do anything it takes.
31:10There may be something in that, sir.
31:16What was that about?
31:17No idea.
31:21You're right, Louise.
31:22Louise, I have become a bit of a celebrity.
31:26I'm receiving mail from women all across Canada.
31:32Nellie McClung, Clara Brett Martin, dozens of others.
31:37That's wonderful.
31:39You enjoying the limelight?
31:42It's not all pleasant.
31:45Take a look at this.
31:49Ah, a death threat.
31:52Phenonymous, of course.
31:53I considered taking it to the police, but I hardly think there's any point.
31:56I've received dozens of those over the years.
31:59I have a scrapbook.
32:01Of course you do.
32:06The people who write those are cowards.
32:09Sad little men with nothing better to do with their time.
32:13Don't let it get to you.
32:15I won't.
32:17Nothing's going to stop me.
32:24Sir, I spoke to the U's auto salesman, the one who made the sale a few days before the
32:28kidnapping.
32:29All of the documents are in Godfrey Ambrose's name.
32:32Did the purchaser's description match Mr. Ambrose?
32:35No, it didn't, sir.
32:36It was a woman.
32:37She says she was Ambrose's wife.
32:39Mrs. Ambrose purchased the automobile in Mr. Ambrose's name.
32:43You don't seem surprised, sir.
32:45In the past weeks, Mrs. Ambrose has been taking control of the company, consolidated
32:51its debts, and brought it back from the brink of collapse.
32:55Should I bring her in, then?
32:57Not just yet.
32:59I'd like to look into something else first.
33:13Detective.
33:14Miss Newsome.
33:16I'm surprised to see you here.
33:18As am I.
33:19I thought you'd left the Crown Attorney's office.
33:21Research.
33:23I'm arguing in front of the Supreme Court.
33:25Yes, I've heard.
33:27That is quite an accomplishment.
33:29Nothing's been accomplished yet.
33:32I've been meaning to stop by the station house to thank you.
33:36For?
33:37Camille Gauthier.
33:39She was given a slap on the wrist.
33:41A detective acted as a character witness on her behalf.
33:47Her actions may have contravened the letter of the law, but I believe she's an honest young
33:52woman who spoke the truth, even at risk to herself.
33:57Did you find what you were looking for?
34:00I believe I did.
34:06We understand, my lords, that law officers of the Crown have considered this question
34:11before, but their conclusions were based on facts extraneous to the British North America
34:16Act itself.
34:17The question before you is whether the word person refers to a male person.
34:21I contend that by virtue of the Imperial Interpretation Act, passed prior to the British North America
34:27Act, the word persons must be construed as including both sexes.
34:34The...
34:36No other...
34:37Effie?
34:39The argument is sound.
34:41I have to get it right.
34:42You know every word.
34:43Clearly, I don't.
34:45We've been over it time and again.
34:47You need to rest.
34:48What if I'm missing something?
34:50We may never get another opportunity like this.
34:53I have to do everything possible to give us the best chance of winning.
34:57You have done everything you can.
34:59What else is there, especially at the 11th hour?
35:02I don't know.
35:04But...
35:04I have to do more.
35:06This isn't just about a women's court.
35:08If we win, suffrage will follow.
35:11Women will be allowed to hold elected office.
35:13I cannot fail.
35:20Well, there's no guarantee at success.
35:25There's also no one better to take this on than Effie Newsom.
35:36No other intent.
35:39Having been expressed within the act itself, the plain meaning of the word must prevail.
35:45To hold otherwise would be to introduce a distinction which Parliament did not see fit to make.
35:51Thank you for finding my husband.
35:53Are you sure thanks are in order?
35:57This is a petition for a divorce initiated by you one year ago.
36:03Oh, yes.
36:04I wanted a divorce, but my husband refused to grant me one.
36:08So your petition was unsuccessful?
36:11Yes.
36:13It's no surprise.
36:15A woman seeking a divorce in this province must meet a much higher threshold than a man.
36:21She has to prove adultery and an aggravating factor.
36:25In this case, brutality.
36:28He was violent toward you.
36:31What exactly is this about?
36:36Your petition was dismissed for lack of evidence, and you did not have a police report to bolster your claim.
36:43A police report of what?
36:45There was no single incident.
36:47He hurt me nearly every day for years.
36:51But what does this matter?
36:52This is ancient history.
36:53You filed a second petition for divorce only last week, Mrs. Ambrose.
37:00But this time, you have a police report, mine, which confirmed Mr. Ambrose's infidelity, as well as the fact that
37:11he fled Toronto.
37:12It was your report, I merely submitted it.
37:17This proved abandonment.
37:20An aggravating factor, which might grant a woman permission to have a divorce.
37:25Yes.
37:26They're your words.
37:28But they were precisely what you wanted me to write.
37:32You provided the receipt for the brooch.
37:35You purchased the automobile, and you hired the man with the gun.
37:39I did everything I could to get away from my marriage.
37:42While a man could have walked away at any time, the law didn't permit me that freedom.
37:48So you took matters into your own hands?
37:51The courts grant no rights to a woman.
37:54Yes.
37:55I took things to extreme lengths.
37:58I had no option.
38:01So you kidnapped your husband, and planned to hold him until you got your divorce?
38:06And then what?
38:07Let him go.
38:09By then, the divorce would be legal, and the company would be under my control.
38:13If he chose to fight me in the court, so be it.
38:15At least I'd have a chance.
38:19I'm sympathetic to your situation, Mrs. Ambrose.
38:22I really am.
38:24But kidnapping a man is a serious offense.
38:27One for which you may be sentenced to spend time in prison.
38:33Prison is a far cry better than staying with that man.
39:05Detective, we're here.
39:07Wouldn't miss it.
39:08It's not every day you get to witness history in the making.
39:11Well, we'll see about that.
39:12It's a rather unconventional hairstyle for such a big moment.
39:16Conventions can be changed.
39:32Get out of the inside!
39:46Are you all right?
39:47Yes.
39:48Nothing happened.
39:49The man tried to kill you.
39:50I'm shaken, but I'm fine.
39:51Really.
39:52He's been taken in.
39:53The inspector is sending more constables, but that will take time.
39:57You should remain in here.
39:59For how long?
40:00As long as it takes to make things safe.
40:02The man tried to kill you.
40:04There could be more.
40:04No, I have to go in there.
40:05I'm due to be arguing my case right now.
40:07It will have to wait.
40:09The courtroom is packed.
40:10Behind that door are 300 people, any of whom could have a weapon.
40:12We need to search them all.
40:13That could take hours.
40:14I'm sure the court will agree to hear your argument another time under these circumstances.
40:19Perhaps, but when?
40:20This is the Supreme Court.
40:22That could take months.
40:23So we wait.
40:24No!
40:25This is our chance.
40:27I've given everything to this case.
40:29Why not my life?
40:44How do these men sleep at night?
40:48How can they say with a straight face that women are not people?
40:52Qualified persons.
40:54Whatever.
40:54It's a legal distinction.
40:58What do we do?
41:00There's nothing we can do.
41:03You've said that before.
41:06This time it's true.
41:09The Supreme Court has made their decision.
41:12It's done.
41:14But it's not fair.
41:17You risked your life for this.
41:19Someone tried to kill you.
41:20Bravery doesn't guarantee victory.
41:26Well, damn them.
41:27They can't alter the fact that a change has already been made.
41:30What change?
41:32We haven't accomplished a thing.
41:38We haven't accomplished a thing.
41:50They know it's an injustice.
41:54Perhaps.
41:58Or perhaps those little girls are discouraged by our loss.
42:09Well, I'm not giving up.
42:12I'll keep writing about this.
42:16We can mount another legal challenge.
42:28I know it's silly to say, but...
42:33You've inspired me.
42:37I know I'm not the only one.
42:38I know it's true.
42:49I know it's a joke.
42:53I love it.
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