………………….

From the various cubby-hole office spaces the Montreal Health Press occupied, the Collective had a long and varied reach.  Our three-day annual retreats, usually in a country setting and often with children in tow, set the course for the coming year.  Our publications, their revisions and distribution were always central, but we were also keen to connect this work and our actions to pressing social issues—locally, nationally and internationally as well.  We travelled to conferences where we could exchange ideas and strategies with other feminist groups.  We volunteered at rape crisis centres. We marched for prochoice rights.  We brought our children to sit-ins to demand a province-wide, quality and affordable day care system.  At book fairs, our children often “ran” the booth.  Junior activists in training!

Shirley Pettifer (Gardiner), Co-founder of MHP, sociologist, teacher