Dozens of mothers came to show their support at Montreal’s Eaton Centre after a mother was reportedly asked to leave the premises for breastfeeding her son in public.
Isabelle Côté was breastfeeding her four-month-old last weekend at Montreal’s Eaton Centre when a security guard approached her and asked her to leave the premises.
The news sparked outrage across the city, especially since a woman's right to breastfeed her child is protected by the Quebec and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Côté told CTV News that, "The security agent came to me and told me that I was not allowed to breastfeed at this specific place. I was not allowed to breastfeed in public [...] I asked her why and then she said, 'It's because it's a private act.' It's something that I should not be doing in public."
In response, dozens of mothers came for a public sit-in where they breastfed their children in solidarity with Côté and her son Leopold.
"[Mothers are] not trying to seduce you, they're not trying to show their body. They're just trying to do one simple thing and it's to feed their children," says the event’s organizer, Valérie Laframboise.
