Martine Biron wants to legislate to protect a "sacred" right
(Quebec) Fearing abuses as in the United States, the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Martine Biron, wants to legislate so that the right of women to choose abortion becomes "sacred" in Quebec. It launches a project to open the "debate" in society.
"What I want to crown is the principle. I want to screw it into the wall. I want us to say that this right is a right in Quebec, we believe in it and we want to protect it, "says the minister in an interview with La Presse. The member for Chutes-de-la-Chaudière "swears" that this is not an attempt to distract after the spectacular turnaround of the Legault government in the file of the third link.
"I did not put something on the face to hide anything," says the one who is also minister of international relations. The decision to announce her goals this week came after confirmation of the postponement of the French premier's visit to Quebec until mid-April, Biron said.
Martine Biron will therefore consult in the coming weeks with many civil society actors, such as doctors, legal specialists and community groups. She wants to arrive with "an answer" in the fall. Her first choice: to introduce a bill that would "protect" the right to abortion.
I still want to hear opinions. What do people have to say about that? Are there other paths stronger than a law? Maybe. [...] That's why you have to give yourself a little space.
Martine Biron, Minister responsible for the Status of Women
Abortion is no longer a crime in Canada since the Supreme Court's Morgentaler decision in 1988. But there is a "legal vagueness", according toMs. Biron. "It's no longer a crime, but there is no law that regulates this right. [The federal government] has never been able to do that, they have never legislated on this issue," she said.
The affirmation of a fundamental rightA Quebec law would affirm that women's right to choose abortion is fundamental. It is not a question of legislating on the "modalities" of access or contraception,nuances Ms. Biron, but of "protecting the principle" that is widely agreed in Quebec.
"I know that [the criminalization of abortion] is a federal jurisdiction, but in Quebec, we must do something," says the former Radio-Canada analyst. She pleaded her case with the Prime Minister before confirming her jump into politics last August, when she returned from an assignment in Washington, where debate has been raging since the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Obstacles from the federal governmentCanada is not immune, she believes. "Since 1988, in the last 35 years, there have been 48 attempts by a federal MP, via a private member's bill, to restrict women's right to abortion [in Canada]. What tells me that the 49thtime won't happen? ",pleads Ms. Biron.
That's more than [one attempt] a year, so there are people who are pushy over time.
Martine Biron, Minister responsible for the Status of Women
If Ottawa decided to legislate the right to abortion in this country, the federal law would take precedence over provincial legislation. In this sense, "if the federal government wanted in one way or another to diminish or restrict this right,
it would know that Quebec is on its way," saysMs. Biron.
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, has also put at his disposal "a small team of lawyers" to accompany him in his efforts. "I think that women's rights, currently, it could be threatened, and in this sense, I want to act now," she pleads, saying to observe everywhere in the world "a current that polarizes the debate".
"What I want to crown is the principle. I want to screw it into the wall. I want us to say that this right is a right in Quebec, we believe in it and we want to protect it, "says the minister in an interview with La Presse. The member for Chutes-de-la-Chaudière "swears" that this is not an attempt to distract after the spectacular turnaround of the Legault government in the file of the third link.
"I did not put something on the face to hide anything," says the one who is also minister of international relations. The decision to announce her goals this week came after confirmation of the postponement of the French premier's visit to Quebec until mid-April, Biron said.
Martine Biron will therefore consult in the coming weeks with many civil society actors, such as doctors, legal specialists and community groups. She wants to arrive with "an answer" in the fall. Her first choice: to introduce a bill that would "protect" the right to abortion.
I still want to hear opinions. What do people have to say about that? Are there other paths stronger than a law? Maybe. [...] That's why you have to give yourself a little space.
Martine Biron, Minister responsible for the Status of Women
Abortion is no longer a crime in Canada since the Supreme Court's Morgentaler decision in 1988. But there is a "legal vagueness", according toMs. Biron. "It's no longer a crime, but there is no law that regulates this right. [The federal government] has never been able to do that, they have never legislated on this issue," she said.
The affirmation of a fundamental rightA Quebec law would affirm that women's right to choose abortion is fundamental. It is not a question of legislating on the "modalities" of access or contraception,nuances Ms. Biron, but of "protecting the principle" that is widely agreed in Quebec.
"I know that [the criminalization of abortion] is a federal jurisdiction, but in Quebec, we must do something," says the former Radio-Canada analyst. She pleaded her case with the Prime Minister before confirming her jump into politics last August, when she returned from an assignment in Washington, where debate has been raging since the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Obstacles from the federal governmentCanada is not immune, she believes. "Since 1988, in the last 35 years, there have been 48 attempts by a federal MP, via a private member's bill, to restrict women's right to abortion [in Canada]. What tells me that the 49thtime won't happen? ",pleads Ms. Biron.
That's more than [one attempt] a year, so there are people who are pushy over time.
Martine Biron, Minister responsible for the Status of Women
If Ottawa decided to legislate the right to abortion in this country, the federal law would take precedence over provincial legislation. In this sense, "if the federal government wanted in one way or another to diminish or restrict this right,
it would know that Quebec is on its way," saysMs. Biron.
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, has also put at his disposal "a small team of lawyers" to accompany him in his efforts. "I think that women's rights, currently, it could be threatened, and in this sense, I want to act now," she pleads, saying to observe everywhere in the world "a current that polarizes the debate".
