We owe a lot to our involvement in the World March of Women, an international movement that we were able to put together with various indigenous women's organizations from around the world. In our struggle, we place a strong emphasis on the fact that we need to ask ourselves societal questions. For example, what kinds of developments and systems are we in favour of?
It's important to work on awareness, but various measures, including legislation, are needed to transform society. Earlier on, Ms. Sirois-Gauthier was talking about women who worked in the mines. One of our demands was for women to be able to work in the mines if a mining project was ever approved in the community. But then we learned that there were acts of violence. That's why we want policies introduced to combat violence against women. We also have policies about psychological and sexual harassment. Not only do these policies need to be applied, but women need to be able to have proper recourse when they make a complaint. We would also like them to be told about the forms of recourse available to them and the authorities who might be able to help them. In Quebec for example, there is the CNESST, a commission for occupational standards, equity, health and safety.
We spoke at length about the acceptability of some of the projects being launched. We are also asking why we haven't yet signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As for the lack of recognition for indigenous peoples, the ongoing acts of violence and the existing systems, we think that it would be extremely valuable to have better collaboration and communication.