Madam Speaker, 35 years ago, Canada was shaken to its core when a horrific act of gender-based violence devastated our country. On December 6, 1989, a gunman walked into a classroom at École polytechnique de Montréal, separated the women from the men, and brutally opened fire on the women. He took the lives of 14 young women and wounded 13 more simply because they were women.

On the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we mourn the heartbreaking loss of these young women, whose promising futures were stolen from them. Today, we remember Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz. These were 14 brilliant lives cut tragically short.

They were students, daughters, sisters, wives and friends. They were athletes, musicians, artists, future engineers, nurses and so much more. Each had unique talents and passions they never got to share, and we all missed out on what they could have contributed to their communities.

Although they are no longer with us, their memory and influence remain.

Thirty-five years later, these young women are still changing the course of history as we take action against gender-based violence. On this day, and throughout the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we acknowledge that the misogyny, sexism and hatred that motivated the tragedy at Polytechnique remains very much a real threat for women in Canada and around the world.

From 2011 to 2021, 1,125 women and girls were victims of gender-related homicide. Of these homicides, 93% were committed by a male intimate partner or family member. While indigenous women account for approximately 5% of all women and girls in Canada, they accounted for 23% of victims of homicide in 2021. In 2023, 187 women and girls were killed violently in Canada. That is one woman every two days.

Gender-based violence leaves lasting scars that affect all aspects of survivors' being, including their health, finances and future. When it starts early, it can echo through generations, trapping women in cycles of violence. We must engage young boys so that they know what healthy relationships look like, so we can create a world where lasting gender equality exists. We must break these cycles and create a world where every woman can live free from fear and full of opportunity.

We need to create a world where there is no place for gender-based violence.

We must also recognize the relationship between femicide and gun violence. According to the Canadian Women's Foundation, the single greatest risk factor of intimate partner violence becoming lethal is the presence of a gun in the home. Our government has always taken the issue of gun control seriously. We have banned 1,500 assault weapons, including the gun that was used at École Polytechnique. Just yesterday, our government announced additional measures. We are banning 324 more makes and models of assault-style rifles to keep our streets safer.

Despite all the efforts over the last 35 years, we still have more to do, but we cannot do it alone. That is why we worked with provinces and territories to launch a national action plan to end gender-based violence and put in place bilateral agreements totalling more than $500 million over four years, allowing each jurisdiction to address their respective priorities and challenges. We owe it to every life taken too soon to take a stand and fight for a future free from gender-based violence.

As we continue to address gender-based violence, we honour the lives taken at École Polytechnique, and we commit to doing more for those most at risk, including young women, indigenous women, Black and immigrant women, gender-diverse individuals, women with disabilities and those in rural communities. Today and every day, let us remember that we all have a role to play in creating a future where all women can live free of violence.

Marci Ien

$481,485.00