A feminist, citizens’, mixed, nonpartisan group,

• That, on behalf of all women, will make its voice and its demands heard in the public arena.

Our primary objective is to question the patriarchal system that oppresses all women. On the basis of their humanity, women and men have equal intrinsic value and importance, and it is clear that real democracy will be possible only if this parity is fully attained.

• That will promote true equality between women and men.

Persistent inequalities remain obvious in areas such as sharing of domestic tasks, family/work balance, violence against women, salaries, job access, etc.

• That will bring together all women, regardless of their differences or their diverse needs.

We will assert our rights and, better yet, we will act, so that the rights of all women will finally be completely recognized and fulfilled.

• That appeals to all who, like us, unconditionally support a democratic and secular society.

We wish to unite with all those who, like us, refuse to jeopardise the democratic and secular society to which we have aspired and for which we have striven for so many years.

What we want...

• Equality between men and women;
• Solidarity with all women here and elsewhere;
• Respect for the dignity of women;
• Greater social justice;
• To ensure the secular nature of the Quebec state.

In the light of these guiding principles, our reflections and analyses will help us understand the source of the inequalities experienced by women and to propose actions that will pave the way towards true equality in law and in fact between women and men.

We will...

• We will fight against the abasement and discrimination experienced by us women, because we are women. Even today, women are disadvantaged by the uneven distribution of social and economic resources. They are too often excluded from decision-making processes;
• We will make representations so that the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) be implemented fully.

In this international convention, sponsored by the United Nations and signed among others by Canada and ratified by Quebec, states made a commitment to:

“Take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify and abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women.” (CEDAW, Article 2f)

• We will cooperate with groups that work towards abolishing prostitution and the system that allows it. We will support groups which, as in Sweden, ask that measures be put in place to decriminalize women who are prostitutes and help them leave prostitution while applying sanctions to customers and pimps;
• We will fight sexism and the hypersexualization of women and girls as well as the sexual, physical, and social control which is imposed on us;
• We will cooperate with groups that work towards ending violence against women and ending poverty;
• We will promote wage parity, family-work balance, protection of the right to free and readily available abortion, etc;
• We will support the accomplishment of a secular Quebec state, both in the neutrality of its institutions as well as that of its representatives, thereby bringing to fruition one of the great challenges of the Quiet Revolution.

We will give priority to the rights of women…

• By promoting social change in order to improve relationships between women and men and create an egalitarian society. Reducing sex based disparities is necessary in order that, ultimately, human rights prevail over all other considerations;
• By defending the protection of the fundamental rights of women to equality and dignity, the scope of which is universal and goes beyond the opposition between “women’s rights” and “cultural and religious rights” conveyed by the proponents of cultural relativism;
• By fighting against hate propaganda aimed at women;
• By rejecting any and all new definitions of feminism which serve sectarian or communitarian interests at the expense of women’s rights;
• By creating a mixed movement, because it is together that women and men can make society move forward and enforce collective rights. It is also a way to recognize that, throughout history, there have been men who have accompanied women on the road to emancipation. We shall thus favour mixed membership while reserving administration and management for women exclusively.

Thus…

• PDF Québec will contribute to the building of a more just, egalitarian and united society.
• Because the achievement of women’s rights is a social issue since it is recognized that improving women’s status in a society is beneficial to everyone, women as well as men.

CANADIAN WOMEN’S DECLARATION; AN APPEAL TO REPEAL BILL C-16 (November 2019)