CMWH Founding Board

Mary Clancy, President

To Canada’s Women:

This is an idea whose time has come. I am honoured to be able to play a part!

My dearest wish is to see all the women of this country sharing ownership of a project that will tell the stories of Canada’s women-from every conceivable background-stories that will no longer be silenced, forgotten or ignored.

The establishment of this Museum will be a milestone that will equal universal female suffrage, the Married Women’s Property Act, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a federal Cabinet that balances gender.

Why? Because those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.

Together, we can.

Mary Clancy

Halifax, NS

Past Consul General to Boston, MP Halifax (1988-1997) Lawyer, Broadcaster, Columnist, University Lecturer, Actor, MP, Diplomat, Community Activist.

Arlene Hache, Vice President

Arlene Hache, a person who has experienced homelessness is well known across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut as an advocate for social change. As a result of her work in the North, Arlene was awarded the Order of Canada in 2009 and then the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Arlene has participated on several research teams and is a published author. Arlene was a founder and the Executive Director of Centre for Northern Families for 25 years. The Centre offered a broad range of services including an emergency shelter for women who were homeless, a poverty law program, a family support program with prenatal and toddler components, childcare services, assessment and case management services and third party intervention and child supervision services for families impacted by violence.

Arlene actively participated in the development, implementation and evaluation of every program offered at the Centre. She designed a family support delivery model and training curriculum that helps families strengthen and negotiate internal and external inter-personal relationships in a way that promotes healthy interdependence. In a partnership with the YWCA, she co-developed and co-managed a gender specific trauma recovery program for First Nations, Inuit and Metis women who were impacted by colonization, systemic oppression and extreme levels of violence. Both staff from the Centre for Northern Families and staff from the YWCA delivered the trauma recovery program so a high degree of negotiation, cooperation and communication was required to ensure its success.

Heather Morrison, Treasurer & Founder of CMWH

The heart of Heather’s career has centred on advocating for the rights and well-being of vulnerable persons. She has demonstrated this lifelong commitment through her frontline employment as a case manager and counsellor. In these roles, she delivered direct counselling to clients and developed programs in the areas of youth justice diversion, family violence, sexual violence, and mental health and addictions to an indigenous fly-in community.

Heather brings to CMWH her extensive knowledge in political organizing, policy governance development, project management, and information technology.

In 2021, Heather completed a Master's in Education at Queen’s University, where her work focused on the impact of complex childhood trauma on learners.

Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at Queen's University's Faculty of Education, having been awarded the Martin Schiralli Fellowship two successive years. She now holds the 2023-2024 R. Samuel McLaughlin Fellowship

The purpose of Heather's Ph.D. research is to examine Public Pedagogy as a primary tenant of Liberal Democracy, as it promotes responsible citizenship and fuels social change through knowledge acquisition. Ultimately, her research and writing will build an evidence-based case serving as the foundational argument for Canada’s first museum of women’s history.

Heather is the founder and visionary drive behind the Canadian Museum of Women's History.