Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) leadership hopeful Christine Fréchette says she is concerned about the rise of masculinist rhetoric, which is undermining gender equality.
“People feel a little uninhibited. They feel free to openly express views that are hostile to women, and that concerns me greatly,” she said in an interview with La Presse Canadienne.
The resurgence of masculinist discourse has been documented in several media outlets in recent months. At the end of February, a study indicated that teachers were observing an increase in intolerant comments from students toward several groups, including women.
“We must raise awareness at the earliest possible age, among both girls and boys. Girls need to learn that certain comments are unacceptable, and boys need to learn that equality between men and women is a well-established value in Quebec,” said the woman who wants to succeed François Legault as head of the CAQ.
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It should be noted that there have been seven femicides in Quebec since the beginning of the year.
Like Bernard Drainville, her opponent in the leadership race, Fréchette wants to pass a bill inspired by the “Clare Law” that aims to allow women to find out about their partner’s history of violence.
The Legault government has already committed to moving forward with such a measure.
Fréchette also proposes adding 50 additional resources to shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence. These resources will provide more socio-legal support, psychosocial follow-up, and post-shelter services.
The leadership candidate estimates the cost of her measure at nearly $4 million annually.
“Not all requests for shelter from women who are victims of violence are being met. (…) We must take action because we don’t have the luxury of waiting for things to resolve themselves,” she explains.
Fréchette was appointed to the Council on the Status of Women at the age of 26. She remained there for nine years. If she is elected leader of the CAQ, she will become Quebec’s second female premier after Pauline Marois of the PQ.
During the interview, she does not hesitate to label herself a feminist.
“I don’t think there’s any need to associate anything pejorative with that. In many ways, women lag behind men, for example in terms of salary. (…) So legal equality exists, but equality in practice has yet to be achieved,” she argues.
She assures us that she will seek to achieve parity, whether in terms of candidates for the next election or the composition of her eventual cabinet.
But the CAQ is struggling to reconnect with Quebecers, both men and women. According to the latest Léger poll published this week, the CAQ is polling at only 11 per cent among women.
“Once there is a new leader, I think women will take a fresh look at the CAQ. And I can already sense this, because there are many people—both men and women—who tell me, ‘I think the time has come for us to have a woman at the head of the government,’” she said.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
