Women from the Raelian Church in Canada are calling on federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair to support the campaign to give women — all women — the same rights men have to be topless in public.
My first thought after I read the headline on their press release (which follows below) was why didn’t they appeal to Prime Minister Harper and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, too? I’ve asked them for a comment on that, and will add it to my report on the Montreal event.
Meanwhile, their press release says “Raelian women believe that Mr. Justin Trudeau and Mr. Thomas Mulcair would make far better advocates for women’s rights in Canada and have filed a formal request for support to their offices in Montreal to ensure that women have the same rights as men.”
You can get more details on the Montreal event at their Facebook page.
Here is their press release, issued on Wednesday, as published by CNW Telbec:
GoTopless: Raelian women ask Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair to ensure that Canada’s Constitution is applied
MONTREAL, Aug. 20, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ – GoTopless, an international organization of women who campaign in favor of women’s equal rights to be topless in public wherever men have this right, will celebrate its 7th year anniversary on August 24, 2014.
GoTopless spokesperson, Sylvie Chabot, explained: “In Montreal, this year’s event will be held on Sunday, August 24 at 1pm, by the Georges Étienne Cartier monument. It is interesting to note that engraved on this monument we can read, ‘Canada must be a country of freedom and all freedoms must be protected by the Law,’ Cartier, 1867. Nearly 150 years have passed and it is time for this quote to materialize.”
GoTopless is inviting Montreal residents to participate in this event which they point out will increase pressure on the government to amend current laws. In Vancouver, a GoTopless walk will take place on Robson street starting at 1pm.
When asked why Chabot feels the need for laws to change she said “Because the Constitution guarantees equal rights for women as it does men yet there are laws in place which are going against the Constitution! Furthermore, by now it should be clear to everyone, especially women, that the conservative and regressive policies of Stephen Harper’s government have not improved women’s situations in Canada. To name just a few examples, the termination of the federal childcare program, the huge reduction of the budget allocated to the Feminine Condition, the cancellation of the Court Challenges Program which was specifically designed to facilitate aid for those addressing matters of constitutional equality, etc.”
Raelian women believe that Mr. Justin Trudeau and Mr. Thomas Mulcair would make far better advocates for women’s rights in Canada and have filed a formal request for support to their offices in Montreal to ensure that women have the same rights as men.
Chabot continued, “In this case it means that women can exercise their constitutional right to move about wherever they please in public with their breasts exposed if they so wish,” August 26 will be Women’s Equality Day and will be held in several cities around the world. Our campaign is part of a broader movement to end all forms of discrimination and repression against women.”
Many have praised the women like Romana Santorelli, Phoenix Feeley and Gwen Jacob who have vigorously defended this right through their individual action and who have even been successful in having laws amended in Ontario. Raelians are not the only ones who praise these women but say that these women are role models for all other Canadian provinces and, thanks to their courage, politicians should be inspired to change the laws and make them more equitable and unbiased.
Chabot concluded by saying “It is in the name of freedom and Constitutional Rights that men and women of different faiths, sexual orientations and associations will mobilize on August 24th so that never again will women be humiliated or prohibited from sunbathing topless wherever men can, or be reprimanded when breastfeeding in public. We invite Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Mulcair to speak out on women’s right to be bare-breasted wherever men are given this right. We also invite all those who believe in equality for women and men to come out and join us in this cause on August 24.”
SOURCE Église raëlienne canadienne
For more information, see www.gotopless.org.
Jillian Page 
It is a shame that this is being sponsored by the Raelians. It really makes the whole thing suspect. I fully support the right of all women to be topless, as I do the right of all people to be naked. That’s correct. Right to be naked. Nakedness is the natural and normal state of all people. It is what we are, undisguised and unelaborated.
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But, Alex, there are plenty of religious groups who sponsor various events. Would you not attend a flea market or a concert because it is being put on by a Catholic organization or a Muslim group? What difference does their spiritual beliefs make? Raelians have a right to freedom of religion, just as every other group does, too. And the Raelians belief system is very similar to the Sumerian belief system — the Sumerians’ creation legend and other beliefs were ripped off by most religions that followed. Their belief system is no more far out than any other belief system.
The Raelian organization is speaking up for all women, not just Raelian women. If the Mormons or the Catholics or Muslims were sponsoring the event, it would make no difference. It’s the cause that counts, not the beliefs of the people who are sponsoring the event — giving their time and, no doubt, money to the effort. They should be applauded.
P.S. I’ve never heard of Raelians conducting crusades or beheading people. They are very peaceful and loving.
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Sure Jillian, and I appreciate the fact that they are doing it and make it clear that they are. They also promote their literature on that page. It is their underlying motives that make me uncomfortable. People who believe in visitors from space are no different from people who believe in a male deity figure that created everything. Human rights and equal rights should really supersede and not be encumbered by religious hogwash of any form. It is religion and religious people that forced the inequality of women in the first place. Just my gut feeling, that’s all Jillian.
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I am sure that all religious groups that hold public events hope people will consider joining, but as long as they don’t force their beliefs on anyone, it’s fine. But if we start discriminating on the basis of people’s religious beliefs, there would virtually be no events, no stores, not much of anything — because everybody believes in something, or in nothing (which is something, i.e. atheism).
As for believing man was created by people from another planet, as mentioned before, that is the basis of the Sumerian creation legend, which has been embraced by many other religions that followed, though they embellished it to suit their needs. Even The Bible says man was made in God’s image . . . the Sumerians believed man was made in the image of the people who created them, and may have considered them to be gods. And there are accounts in the Bible of visitors from beyond.
Is it any more far out to believe God whipped up man out of dust?
I’ve spent time with the Raelians, and they’re fine.
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I find it a bit amusing that the day is partly about not-objectifiying women, yet of course, the two women clearly seen in the PR photo you have posted are attractive and with reasonably perky breasts.
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Should attractive women not be allowed to bare their tops?
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