Evidence of meeting #22 for Status of Women in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was online.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General, Interligne
Our work is about education. At Interligne, we do a lot of awareness-raising and we see results. The more we raise awareness, the more results we see, especially when we start with younger students. The context in schools and classrooms is fairly difficult right now, but we don't have the resources to go very often. But the impact is there, and I think we have to go. The younger the students are, the better the chance of changing mentalities is.
I believe my time is up.
Conservative
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
I have a question, and I'm going to start with Francis.
Does anti-feminism manifest differently in different languages or cultures?
Full Professor, Chantier sur l'antiféminisme, Réseau québécois en études féministes, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
That's a very good question.
As far as language goes, I don't know, but when it comes to culture, then yes, some references are different. I mentioned in passing that pretty much every community has a nationalist or grassroots antifeminist movement. In Quebec, for example, when women started demanding the right to vote in the early 20th century, the anti-suffragette activists claimed that the suffragettes came from Great Britain, that it was a Protestant idea, that it wasn't Catholic and it wasn't for francophones. They said that it was a foreign concept. It was their way of saying that Quebec women didn't need the right to vote because it was a foreign thing. We see that regularly in many different parts of the world, even within the African-American community in the U.S. in some ways. Black feminists complain that some men in the community say that feminism is a white thing that doesn't concern them, while Black feminists say that African-American feminism does exist.
So yes, there's a reorganization of the antifeminist logic or rhetoric that's related to the historical context, the cultural context and the religious context as well, obviously. The Vatican has its own arguments as to why feminism is problematic. Conservative Jews or conservative Muslims will have other arguments.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
I'm going to ask the same question of Kyle and Pascal.
Kyle, do you want to answer that?
Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, As an Individual
Can you repeat the question one more time?
Thank you.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Sure. Does anti-feminism manifest differently in different languages and cultures?
Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, As an Individual
That's a really good question.
I don't have the expertise on different cultures to be able to say one way or the other, but I would imagine yes. I think we see that in how different belief systems in different cultures with different religions operate around what gender roles are and the beliefs around what people should and shouldn't be doing.
I would say yes, but I don't have enough expertise to say yes or no.
Director General, Interligne
With respect to LGBTQ+ communities, in all societies—or most societies—LGBTQ+ rights emerged after the expansion of women's rights. In addition, because of this correlation, when LGBTQ+ rights come under attack, we can also be concerned about what may happen to women's rights.
Right now, we're very much in the midst of that. We're seeing attacks through institutions and the media, and in many different contexts. We are feeling these attacks on several fronts. In terms of the effects, it's a bit like what I mentioned earlier in my remarks: right now, we're all seeing the consequences of these attacks. That's what I wanted to tell you.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
It's interesting. I'm going to ask a bit of a funny question now. My late husband always said to me, “Happy wife, happy life”. I have to say, he was a true gentleman, regardless of gender and who you were. I was raised in my culture by my grandparents to treat everyone equally.
How do you feel about that statement?
I'll start with you, Mr. Ganson.
Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, As an Individual
I've heard that statement before. It's a colloquial statement that is said quite often.
Going back to what was said earlier around gender, gender notions are everywhere. Objects are gendered and movies are gendered—everything is gendered. Sayings like that are gendered. We are embedded in a community and a world where gender is omnipresent, and that creates dynamics. That's obviously why we're here at the table today.
Sometimes it's good in a fun way. Other times it's not; it's misogynistic and anti-feminist. That's what I think about that.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
I'm going to end it with this. I've raised two children, male and female. My husband passed away. Regardless, when I spoke to both of them, it was on the same platform. Regardless of whether I, as a female, will open a door for a male, or a male will open a door for a female, it doesn't matter. We are equal.
Would you say that's correct?
Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, As an Individual
Are you asking me?
Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, As an Individual
Okay.
In different settings, there are different levels of equality. That's an important distinction. Maybe in a certain family, there might be some equality between roles and between genders. There's very clearly a difference in equality at higher levels of companies, etc. Maybe it's context-specific.
That's my initial response to that.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
That's your time.
We're going now to Madame Ménard.
Ms. Ménard, you have the floor for five minutes.
February 3rd, 2026 / 12:40 p.m.
Liberal
Marie-Gabrielle Ménard Liberal Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Vaillancourt, Mr. Ganson and Mr. Dupuis‑Déri, thank you for your enlightening expertise. Your testimony is deeply troubling. This subject is one we're passionate about.
Mr. Dupuis‑Déri, I'll start with you.
At the very start of the study, we heard from Jake Stika from the organization Next Gen Men. He introduced us to something quite interesting from a behavioural standpoint. He invited us to take a trip back in time. He had us focus on the population of young men. In the past, these young men were sometimes receptacles for various discourses, different hypothetically antifeminist messages.
Today, it may seem counterintuitive, but we are apparently able to reach and penetrate this population through digital spaces, but it's in the physical space where increasingly violent actions are being expressed. It's as though the digital sphere somehow manages to normalize behaviours that then manifest in the physical world.
What can you tell us about that migration, that shift from a more passive role to a very active one?
Full Professor, Chantier sur l'antiféminisme, Réseau québécois en études féministes, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
Thank you for the question.
That will give me a chance to speak briefly about the research I have just completed with the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement. I remind you that it involved a focus group of about 50 teachers. We invited them to participate by announcing that it would be a discussion about sexist, homophobic and transphobic students. So, in principle, I imagine they came with these experiences in mind. We had about 50 witnesses in seven regions of Quebec, plus respondents to questionnaires.
I'll spare you the details, but what we found is completely discouraging and distressing. Studies show, as Mr. Vaillancourt mentioned, that homophobic and transphobic prejudices, among other things, are developing. They develop to a lesser extent in girls, but they do develop. There are girls who are homophobic and transphobic. However, as you just mentioned, this is expressed mainly among boys. We're seeing insults, students contradicting teachers or telling female teachers to go back home to take care of their children instead of stealing a man's job. We're also seeing LGBTQI+ flags being burned in several schools across Canada.
These students greet each other. I realized that a certain phenomenon is spreading among our youth in schools, namely, Nazi salutes. This is happening in other countries as well, such as France, Germany and elsewhere. Young people “entertain themselves” by making Nazi salutes.
My explanation is that it's not just based on the so-called social media that everyone talks about. We are in a political era that has an impact on young people, because although the young people participating in our societies are not necessarily highly politicized, they understand what is going on. Teachers told us that when Donald Trump was elected, boys would say that they had won, that teachers could no longer tell them what to do or what to say, and that they had the right to say that they were against gay people and that there would not be a drag queen in their school. So they follow Elon Musk. They make Nazi salutes. They say Elon Musk is the richest man in the world, so how can female teachers tell them what to do? They believe they have the right to say and do whatever they want. They are therefore being influenced by the most powerful masculinist figures on the planet who took control of the White House. This is not a figure of speech or a metaphor; this is what is happening right now in 2026, and it has an impact on society as a whole, because these are the most influential men in the world.
Liberal
Marie-Gabrielle Ménard Liberal Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC
Thank you very much.
Mr. Vaillancourt, I'll continue along the same lines. In your opening remarks, you talked about statistics and volume. I would like us to talk both about quantity and quality. I think that's what's relevant to this committee.
Can you shed some light on the volume and nature of calls related to the rise of antifeminist ideology that Interligne receives?
Director General, Interligne
We haven't noticed an increase in our statistics, that is, each year, there are about 20,000 requests for Interligne's support, listening and information services. However, we have noticed a worsening, an increase in the reasons for these calls.
In the past, when people contacted us, the most frequent reasons were a desire to come out and a request for support in that process, or psychological distress.
At present, there is still psychological distress, but it has risen sharply. However, what is new is that certain reasons have become the most frequent ones, such as violence, assaults in the street or attacks on dating sites. These are things that we hear much more often today, things we didn't hear in the past, or that previously, we felt we were in a period of progress. Right now, we feel there has been a setback of several years.
Liberal
Marie-Gabrielle Ménard Liberal Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC
I have just a few seconds left.
As you mentioned, Interligne operates across the country, so we can assume that some people who may have fewer physical resources have access to a crisis line, and therefore to support. Is that correct?
Conservative
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Professor Dupuis‑Déri, you seem to be passing your pessimism on to me. You're bringing back memories for me when you talk about school.
My question is also for you, Mr. Vaillancourt and Professor Ganson.
I had the opportunity to visit a school. I was initially going there to speak with students during the lunch hour, but afterward, the teacher told me that, as the spokesperson for the status of women, I should know that violence among young students is increasing, and that already in high school they are trying to control their girlfriends. The teacher told me that she tried to talk about diversity. She displayed a diversity flag in the classroom and had told the class that after the break they would talk about the communities, but the flag had been torn down. She told me that in school they can no longer talk about diversity, and that gay, lesbian and other couples are no longer open.
So what can we do? People talk about social media, but as you said, Professor Dupuis‑Déri, they now have completely uninhibited role models south of the border.
There is also the influence of pornography in all this. Can we talk about the influence of more violent pornography, about better digital education, and about making space for other kinds of discourse in traditional media? What solutions can we consider?
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