| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of Issue | August 28, 2023 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Quantity | 200,000 |
| Denomination |
 PERMANENT™ (P).Current monetary value: $0.92. |
| Series | Quebec Feminists |
| Series Time Span | 2023 |
| Postal Administration | Canada |
| Condition | Name | Avg Value |
|---|
This stamp issue honours three Quebec activists who played a major role in building a more just and equal society.
This stamp issue pays tribute to the dedicated and influential Quebec feminists who have been at the forefront of the fight for women's and workers' rights, as well as other social and economic inequalities in the province.
Their tireless efforts have shaped society, leaving a lasting impact on generations to come. The issue features powerful imagery, representing Quebec feminists' collective determination.
Léa Roback
Léa Roback (1903-2000) embraced the peace movement and saw unionization as a vehicle to stop exploitation of female workers.
Madeleine Parent
Madeleine Parent (1918-2012), a trade unionist, also advocated for Indigenous women and their struggle to amend the Indian Act.
Simonne Monet-Chartrand
Simonne Monet-Chartrand (1919-93), a defender of human rights and pacifist, took on many women’s causes and organized anti-nuclear initiatives.
Designed by Paprika, each stamp features a powerful photograph capturing the essence of these activists during the peak of their activism.
The white border surrounding the images symbolizes the placards carried proudly during protest rallies, picket lines and marches, representing their collective determination and impact in shaping a more just and equal society.
The Quebec Feminists issue honours three Quebec activists who played a major role in building a more just and equal society.
Pay tribute to the dedicated and influential Quebec feminists who have been at the forefront of the fight for women's and workers' rights, as well as other social and economic inequalities in the province.
Their tireless efforts have shaped society, leaving a lasting impact on generations to come. The issue features powerful imagery, representing Quebec feminists' collective determination.
“What’s important is learning to be human, learning that we are all alike.”
Born in Montréal, Quebec, to Polish Jewish immigrants, Léa Roback (1903-2000) was a lifelong activist for social and economic equality. Her awareness of inequities came as a teenager working her first job at British American Dyeworks, where a 50-hour week under harsh conditions earned her a mere eight dollars.
After moving to Berlin in 1929, she joined the Communist Party, seeing it as the only movement to stand up to fascism and to take action to improve people’s lives.
Returning to Canada three years later, she directed her energies to unionization as a vehicle to stop the exploitation of female workers, beginning in Montréal’s garment industry.
In 1937, she and other International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union leaders mobilized some 5,000 women to walk off the job in a three-week strike that resulted in improved wages and working conditions.
In her progressive and steadfastly optimistic vision of a better world, Roback continued to organize for causes such as peace, disarmament, abortion rights and pay equity.
Created in 1993 in her honour, the Léa Roback Foundation provides scholarships to women with low income who are socially engaged. In 2000, Roback was appointed a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec.
This Official First Day Cover is featured in black and white. The front of the cover depicts a heartwarming snapshot of Léa Roback on the set of A Vision in the Darkness with filmmaker Sophie Bissonnette, in 1991.
The back of the cover includes her name at the top, displayed in large capital letters, with a biography below it that includes facts about Roback and her incredible accomplishments, appearing in both French and English.
The cancel location is Montréal, Quebec.
Born in Montréal, Quebec, to Polish Jewish immigrants, Léa Roback was a trade unionist who also campaigned tirelessly for women’s rights. As a teenager, Roback worked her first job at British American Dyeworks, a cleaning and dyeing company, in Montréal. Arduous 50-hour work weeks, where she earned just eight dollars per week, provided her with an understanding of social inequalities and the harsh conditions that workers faced.
While living in Berlin, Roback joined the Communist Party, which she saw as a bulwark against fascism. Returning to Canada, she went on to manage the Modern Book Shop in Montréal, the city’s first Marxist bookstore. Roback took on the fight for women’s suffrage in Quebec, advocating for a women’s right to vote in provincial elections in 1940.
Working with other International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union leaders, she used her fluency in English, French and Yiddish to communicate with some 5,000 garment workers in Montréal and helped mobilize them to strike in 1937. Three weeks later, the workers signed a collective agreement and received a wage increase and improved working conditions.
During the Second World War, Roback worked on the assembly line at the RCA Victor plant in Saint-Henri, Montréal. She helped the plant’s 4,000 workers — nearly half of them women — win their first union contract. Roback continued to dedicate her life to advocacy, protesting the Vietnam War and fighting for pay equity, the right to abortion and access to contraception. In 1985, she became an honorary member of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women.
“She was an optimist,” says Lorraine Pagé, President of the Léa Roback Foundation. “That is to say that she could see the difficulties, the obstacles, but at the same time, she was firmly convinced that through solidarity, we can move forward.”
For decades, Quebec women have been at the forefront of women’s and workers’ rights and the fight to redress social and economic inequalities in their province. While the movement for women’s rights continues, the work of three Canadian women stands apart.
The new stamp issue highlights the lives and achievements of three Quebec women who were lifelong advocates for workers’ and women’s rights and other causes: Léa Roback, Madeleine Parent and Simonne Monet-Chartrand. Their activism foreshadowed many of the advancements made in equality and justice in Canada.