Ariane K. Métellus, President

Ariane K. Métellus is a social entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and birth doula. Her background has led her to examine the importance of experience in the health system, specifically in sexual and reproductive health and perinatal care of marginalized women, particularly Black and diverse women in Quebec.

Why BCAQ?

What does environmental health mean to you?

 


 Elizabeth Lallemand, Secretary/Treasurer

Elizabeth Lallemand is Program Engagement and Community Manager at McGill University. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Marketing from Concordia University.

Why BCAQ?

What does environmental health mean to you?


Amira Bensahli, Vice President

Amira Bensahli is co-coordinator of the Femmes du monde women's center in Côte-des-Neiges. An active activist since 2013, she has organized several feminist, anti-racist and anti-capitalist actions. She holds a bachelor's degree with honors in sociology and is currently completing her master's in sociology at Université de Montréal.

Why BCAQ?

What motivates me to join this cause is BCAQ's bold vision that goes beyond mere individual awareness. BCAQ recognizes the complexities of social identities and strives to combat combined discrimination. Its anti-racist approach is a strong commitment against systemic racism in health and the environment. My involvement is aimed at diversifying perspectives, combating systemic inequalities affecting racialized women in the fight against breast cancer. I believe that BCAQ can positively influence health policies, raise awareness of specific cultural needs and encourage women's empowerment.

What does environmental health mean to you?

As a racialized woman, my mission is rooted in a feminist and intersectional perspective. For me, environmental health is not an isolated concern, but an interconnected reality. In advocating for this cause, I strive to create conditions conducive to breast cancer prevention, recognizing that marginalized communities are often the most affected. My activism is part of a holistic vision where individual, community and environmental health converge towards collective well-being.


 Ama Maria Anney, Director/Executive Director

An Ivorian-Canadian feminist specializing in Gender and Social Policy (B.Ed, M.A.) Ama Maria Anney has an in-depth knowledge of BCAQ and ability to convey strategic thinking clearly and efficiently. Before joining the team Ama Maria has been on the board of BCAQ for seven years and has been an active volunteer particularly for the human resources commitee and our work on breast cancer and women of diverse origins. She has been Prevention and Strategic Development Coordinator in our organization between 2021 and 2023. Ama Anney has about twelve years of experience in popular education, advocacy, political analysis and prevention in the Quebec feminist movement. A (re) questioning of the social pressures devolving on women at the crossroads of oppression remain her main sources of interest. 


Diana Toffa, Director

Diana Toffa has extensive experience in the management and coordination of projects and administrative activities in the field of international development and in community sector. She holds a Master's degree in Public Law and a DESS in Public Administration, and is particularly interested in issues related to women, vulnerable populations and social justice.

She currently holds the position of Coordinator of Operations and Administration at CDÉACF, the Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine.

Why BCAQ?

Themission of BCAQ is particularly important to me for very personal reasons. Accurate and up-to-date information on breast cancer and the populations particularly affected by this problem is crucial to a better understanding of this phenomenon and the various aspects surrounding it.

What does environmental health mean to you?

Environmental health is an important issue in understanding the possible connections between breast cancer and environmental factors. Since little is known about this "cause and effect" link, it is important that as many people as possible be better informed to be able to fully claim a healthy environment free of factors that affect health.

 


Marie Nikette Lorméus, Director

Marie Nikette, program evaluator, has a long-standing personal commitment to women's rights issues and has been a member of several organizations and platforms on women's rights issues in Haiti and Latin America.

Why BCAQ?

Once I arrived in Quebec, I was eager to continue my involvement in women's rights activities. I joined the BCAQ as a worker and fell in love with the work the organization is doing to fight the invasion of toxins on all fronts and specifically through the reform of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. 

What does environmental health mean to you?

I believe that environmental health is the right of every citizen to live in a healthy environment where toxic substances are well controlled at all levels to avoid the risk of serious diseases (cancer). 

 


Nancy Guberman, Director

Nancy Guberman was a full professor of Social Work at the University of Quebec in Montreal until October 2010. After her retirement from UQAM, she became an activist worker at Relais-femmes where she provided training and support for groups of women. She has been involved with ACS-Qc since 1998 when she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.

Why BCAQ?

I find that BCAQ is one of the only organizations that attacks the real factors linked to breast cancer, namely toxic substances in consumer products and in the more general environment, and in particular endocrine disruptors. BCAQ is also resolutely feminist and has adopted an intersectional vision, which corresponds to my values.

What does environmental health mean to you?

Having had breast cancer despite the fact that I had almost none of the risk factors identified at the time to explain this cancer (I ate well, was not overweight, exercised, did not smoke , drink little alcohol, etc. etc.), I found that BCAQ helped me understand how toxic substances in the environment could play an important role in the increase in breast cancer diagnoses. For me, environmental health implies that humans live healthy in a healthy environment where toxic substances have been eliminated or at least greatly reduced.

 Catherine Poitras, Director

Catherine is a communications analyst and content creator with a background in independent media and over 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector. As a non-binary person living with chronic illnesses, they aim to bring awareness about environmental health through a social justice lens. Some of Catherine’s favourite activities include reading and drawing comics and getting lost in the woods.

Why BCAQ?

BCAQ is a unique organization that combines health and the environment with activism in the fight against breast cancer and for protecting the health of marginalized people. I'm involved in environmental health for the health of my niece and nephew, and for future generations.

What does environmental health mean to you?

Environmental health is first and foremost about understanding that humans are not separate from their environment, on the contrary - what we do to the environment, we do to ourselves. Furthermore, not all humans are equally affected by environmental damage, and this damage exacerbates other inequalities. Once you become aware of environmental health, you see it everywhere!
 


Honorary Members

Deena Dlusy-Apel

Janine O’Leary-Cobb

Michele Landsberg

Francine Pelletier

Sharon Batt