Woman Senator Retires At 84

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31128, 3 August 1966, Page 2

Woman Senator Retires At 84

(■N.ZP.A.-Reuter)

OTTAWA.

Mrs Mariana Jodoin is leaving the Canadian Senate at the age of 4 because she thinks that although men become more charming as they grow older, women do not.

“I have decided to leave before it is too late,” says Mrs Jodoin, the first French-Cana-dian woman to sit in the chamber. She was appointed to the senate 13 years ago. When the Senate Retirement Act came into force, Mrs Jodoin and 26 other senators over 75, had to choose between retirement and serving out their life appointments. All future senators will be required to retire at 75.

Although it was a difficult decision, Mrs Jodoin made it in 24 hours. She believes that the senate has an important steadying role to play in the government of Canada, and for this reason is sad about her retirement

“There are no partisan politics in the senate,” she says. “It is a body of men and women who work exclusively for the over-all welfare of their country.” She has been active in politics since 1926 when she founded the Wilfrid Laurier Liberal Club.

She was Quebec president of the National Federation of Liberal Women and vice-pre-sident of the Federation of Liberal Women of Canada.

When she was young, she wanted to be a lawyer. "But in those days this was impossible for a woman, so I tried to be as useful to the community as I could in a non-

professional capacity,” she says.

She has been an ardent champion of women’s rights, and has helped to further the cause in Quebec. Her voluntary service during the Second World War, as chairman of the Frenchspeaking section of the consumers’ branch of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, earned her an M.B.E. Mrs Jodoin lives in a Montreal flat with her sister. 1 am in good health,” she says, “but with my retirement I shall be able to relax more and spend some time with my family.”