Does anyone know about this situation in Montreal? Can anyone give this woman any suggestions about protest or other actions that might help? J. Rachael Hamlet Owner, Lactivist Mailing List Author, The Breastfeeding Advocacy Page http://www.clark.net/pub/activist/bfpage/bfpage.html ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: [log in to unmask] Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 11:13 -0500 (EST) Subject: Breastfeeding in public in Montreal To: [log in to unmask] Hi! I got your name from a good friend who is a La Leche League leader in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Susanna Eve (Rosenbaum). This week a judgment was awarded to a breastfeeding mom by the Quebec Human Rights Commission ($2500) following an incident in an up-scale shopping mall (Westmount Square). The mother (Ann Martin) had stopped to breastfeed her 3 or 4 month old baby. A (female) security guard approached her and said that there had been several complaints and asked he to cover up or leave. That was 18 months ago. The judment is non-binding on the mall owners and the security company. If they fail to pay in 30 days, the matter will go to a tribunal (like an administrative trial). I have already written to mall management and the real estate consortium which owns it telling them I will no longer shop there unless they pay the judgment. So far they say (in public) they did not discriminate and seem to indicate they won't pay. I would like to organize some sort of protest action ie a "nurse-in". I thought you might have some ideas for really effective protest action. I understand La Leche League does not endorse this sort of action, but speaking to a few like minded individuals, I think I could muster alot of support. So far, the public comments in the media are, of course it's ok to breastfeed, so long as you are discreet. To me that is not the issue. Women have a right to breastfeed anywhere and everywhere, and society as a whole benefits. If you have a chance to reply quickly, I'd appreciate it as I think one must strike while the iron is hot, so to speak. Just to give you a bit of personal background, I am corporate counsel with Alcan Aluminium, a mother of four (four and under) all breastfed, including twins. My current baby is 6 1/2 months, and so far only on breast milk even though I returned to work 2 1/2 months ago. Many thanks for your help.