Biography

-An activist and politician, Françoise David devoted herself body and soul to the cause of women and the less fortunate. She was actively involved in the struggle for the democratization of Quebec, helping to make it a place offering greater social justice. Sensitized to socio-economic inequalities at an early age by her mother, she began helping families living in poverty as a teenager, and later became an instructor at a summer camp for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, which she later managed. In 1969, she spent six months in Rwanda as a teacher and in charge of extracurricular activities at a secondary school. After graduating from the Université de Montréal in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in social work, Ms. David worked as a community organizer, then as an information officer at the Centre des services sociaux de Montréal until 1986. From 1977 to 1984, she was president of her union and head of the women's committee of the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (CSN). In 1987, she became coordinator of the Regroupement des centers de femmes du Québec. Elected President of the Fédération des femmes du Québec in 1994, she held this position until 2001. She was the driving force behind the famous Bread and Roses march in 1995 and the World March of Women Against Poverty and Violence in 2000. A member of several community groups, including the Centre de services sociaux du Montréal métropolitain, she is also active abroad. In January 2000, she took part in a non-governmental observation mission in Iraq. In December of the same year, she completed an internship in Mali with the international cooperation organization SUCO. A tireless activist, she joined the Au bas de l'échelle team to work on a reform of the Act respecting labour standards. In 2002, she founded the citizen movement D'abord solidaires, and two years later launched Option citoyenne, a political movement that merged with the Union des forces progressistes in 2006 to become Québec solidaire. She was co-spokesperson for this party from 2006 to 2017. A candidate in the 2007 and 2008 elections in Gouin, she was elected MNA for this provincial riding in 2012, then re-elected in 2014. In June 2016, the Quebec National Assembly unanimously adopted her Bill 492 to protect the rights of elderly tenants. She left political life in January 2017 for health reasons. Françoise David received the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in 2002. She was made a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 1999 and is an honorary graduate of the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (2004). For her exceptional career, the Université de Montréal awarded Françoise David an honorary doctorate.
- IMDb mini biography by: distinctions.umontreal.ca