In our discussions on principles and goals we spoke of a society where men would not dominate women, where one person would not dominate another and where no group or nation would have dominion over another. I was overwhelmed. This was an ideal I could work for. Suddenly I wrapped feminism around me for it meant more than a liberation of women: it meant equality between peoples and nations. With equality and no domination, where would be the need for war?

We studied the policies of the three major political parties and found them wanting. We decided that if we wanted to run on a platform that would emphasize women's concerns, we must run independent candidates. Kay Macpherson and Aline Gregory agreed to stand as candidates for the federal election. Kay ran on a platform of peace, environmental and women's issues. Aline chose a straight feminist platform.

We asked Desmond Morton to lead us in a weekend workshop on the running of a political campaign. We learned about the designing of leaflets, we practised canvassing, and we learned necessary details of the Canada Elections Act.

Aline Gregory asked me to work on her campaign. A friend loaned us the use of her basement. We installed a telephone with a call-forward device and we phoned every- body we knew to ask for help and for money. We designed leaflets, silk-screened lawn signs and canvassed. We asked, "May I speak to the woman of the house?". Too often a man answering the door would respond "You don't need to talk to her, I know how she's going to vote" or "She's busy getting dinner" or "She's putting the children to bed". But many women answering the door greeted our message gladly and said "It's time."

I was hooked. Political action had become an addiction. I was already a passive member of the New Democratic Party so at the annual general meeting of my riding association in 1973 I nudged my neighbor and whispered "Please nominate me for member at large."

Meanwhile, WPA continued meeting and working. A national conference was called for June 1973. We studied deterrents to women in politics, the writing of briefs, how to deal with the media and native women's rights. We defined a feminist as being "someone having an acute awareness of the inequality of the status of women in society and a dedication to changing the attitudes and barriers which stand in the way of equality of women". The high point of the conference was the speech Rosemary Brown made to the plenary session. Her statement that "until all of us have made it, none of us have made it" is truly the goal of feminism.

Metro (Toronto) NDP Women's Committee was formed after a 1973 conference in Bolton, Ontario. We held workshops and conferences but, like the provincial women's committee, we had no status within the larger party structure.