Fascinating labour history walking tour today in downtown Vancouver and DTES. I thought I knew something of labour history in Vancouver having read plenty — but there’s so much more to learn and discover! What a radical history it is! My knowledge is quite patchy it turns out, but handily the tour was also a tad patchy on the particular time period and events of April 23, 1935 which we explored recently in Rereading the Riot Act, so was able to challenge and enhance that bit.

It is something of a disgrace that the City did not mark the contribution of The Mothers Council of Vancouver in 1935 today, within its Vancouver 125 celebrations. Left wing women’s history in the city during the 1930’s remains lightly documented rather than comprehensively. Irene Howard’s excellent essay The Mother’s Council of Vancouver: Holding the Fort for the Unemployed, 1935-1938 on the topic is vital reading.