1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This chapter explores how feminist theory and activism have shaped community organizing in Canada. [Authors] begin [their] chapter with an exploration of feminist theory and its contemporary relevance to community organizing, followed by a brief overview of the history of women’s activism in Canada and a discussion of what women’s activism and feminist theory have contributed to community organizing. Throughout the chapter [they] provide examples of contemporary feminist organizing in Ontario and Quebec to illustrate the ways in which feminist movements shape community organizing today.» (p. 183) The Quebec parental insurance program is cited as an example.

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Données documentaires diverses

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

«Feminist organizing activities have been central to the creation of Quebec and Canada more broadly. Feminist organizing has resulted in significant legal changes and has shaped the social-service sector to attend to the particular needs of women, particularly women living with violence, recent immigrants, and women living in poverty.» (p. 203) «In the case of Quebec, a successful example of social actors coming together to improve families, children, and women in particular is the 2006 parental insurance program. The women’s movement and the labour movement joined to create a coalition that fought for the implementation of a parental insurance plan. This coalition was mainly composed of community organizations working with women, families, and labour groups, as well as women centres. They were members of provincial organizations which represented them when meeting with the government. It took fifteen years for this program to be achieved […]. In 2006, four new innovative measures were created, enriching the parental insurance program: a paternity leave that is non-transferable to the mother, more flexibility in the distribution of the benefits for mothers, an increase in the amount of benefits provided, and broader eligibility criteria than in the rest of the country […].» (p. 200)