Each issue we honour some of the Manitoba women who are making a difference in our community and across the world.

On March 15, 2008 five outstanding Manitoba women were honoured at a special ceremony in Winnipeg. Muriel Smith, Berenice Sisler, June Menzies, Marjorie Blankstein and Yhetta Gold were honoured at the Spirit of Leadership luncheon at the Fairmont Hotel, which was hosted by emcee Gail Asper.

Spirit of Leadership is a non-profit group dedicated to raising awareness about outstanding community leaders. This year’s five honourees were chosen for their enormous contributions to women’s rights and community organizations.

Muriel Smith is a former MLA who encouraged a generation of women to pursue politics. The first woman president of the NDP party and the first woman to be named deputy premier, Smith was one of five Canadian women to receive the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case last October. As a politician, Smith brought in pay-equity legislation, the Manitoba Child Daycare program and worked to set up a network of women’s shelters and resource centres.

Berenice Sisler fought for equality for married women in Manitoba, mainly in the areas of family law and pension reform. Among the many accolades she has received are the Order of the Buffalo Hunt (1985), the Persons Award (1986), the YMCA-YWCA Woman of the Year Award for Public Affairs (1989), and an honourary doctor of laws from the University of Winnipeg (1990).


Through years of research, much of it voluntary, June Menzies exposed inequality of women in Canada, beginning in the 1950s. She served as the vice president of the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women and was co-chair of the Task Force on Urban Safety for Women and Children in Winnipeg.


Marjorie Blankstein spent 50 years as a community leader, raising millions of dollars for local and national organizations like the United Way and Jewish Community Campus of Winnipeg. She has served as president of the national council of Jewish Women of Canada, secretary of the Canadian Jewish Congresss, president of Jewish Child and Family Service and has served on a variety of other boards and councils. She is a member of the Order of Canada and was named the YMCA/YWCA Woman of the Year in community service in 1978.


Yhetta Gold has been an advocate for youth, seniors and people with disabilities through a number of community services and programs. She has served on a variety of boards and councils, including the National Advisory Council on Aging and the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. She was named Woman of the Year by the National Council of Jewish Women in 1985, and has received the Queen’s Anniversary Gold Medal and the Order of Canada.

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Author Annette Lapointe was named the 2007 winner of the CAA-BookTelevision Emerging Writer Award for her novel Stolen. The awards are given annually to a promising writer under 30. Stolen, published by Anvil Press, was also nominated for a Giller Prize, won two Saskatchewan Book Awards and was included in a list of Top 5 First Fiction by the Globe & Mail. A Saskatchewan native, Lapointe is pursuing her doctorate in Winnipeg.

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In 2007, education student Tasha Spillett was awarded the community/volunteer award at the Manitoba Aborigional Youth Acheivement Awards. She was previously the 2006 recipient of the Sybil Shack Memorial Manitoba Human Rights Youth Award and is one of the founding members of the Aborigional Youth Circle and United Against Racism. Tasha was a presenter at the 2007 Enterprising Women’s Conference.