Mr. Speaker, it has been 35 years since Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Annie Turcotte, Annie St-Arneault, Michèle Richard, Sonia Pelletier, Anne-Marie Lemay, Maryse Leclair, Maryse Laganière, Maud Haviernick, Anne-Marie Edward, Barbara Daigneault, Nathalie Croteau, Hélène Colgan and Geneviève Bergeron were murdered for being women.

New Democrats will always remember the women of École polytechnique de Montréal who lost their lives to patriarchy and white privilege. This deadly combination continues with the upholding of male supremacy across the globe. It is called misogyny, an ingrained prejudice and contempt for women. It is misogyny that has kept women excluded from the hallways of power. It has limited their job opportunities, income, ability to move freely in the community, safety from violence or even access to the health care they need.

For indigenous women in Canada, the impacts are even more deadly. Indigenous women are killed at seven times the rate of non-indigenous women in Canada. This is a recognized genocide that has become so normalized in this country that, when an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit individual goes missing or is killed, it barely makes the news. This reality is happening right now in Winnipeg, where murdered indigenous women have been abandoned in a landfill. It was not a given that the hallways of power would offer dignity to these women and search for them wherever they were. No, it took pressure from sisters to get it done.

I take a moment here to recognize the power of the NDP member for Winnipeg Centre, who fought alongside indigenous women and their families and created a red dress alert system to find and protect indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. This is what action on violence against women looks like. It is shameful that women and gender-diverse people in this country need to stand on guard.

In 35 years, misogyny has not dissipated. In fact, it has increased. With the reach of online gaming and social media, misogyny now has a new name: manospheres. There are clubs, podcasts and books. Influencers use these platforms to radicalize young males through a combination of algorithmic design, social dynamics and exposure to extremist ideologies.

Let us remember these words: algorithmic amplification, gamification of hate, normalization of misogyny, recruitment of vulnerable men and lack of counter-messaging. These are all enemies of human rights, and they are the new wave of violence against women and diverse genders. Right now, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights draws the country's attention to the fact that a “growing number of men spread hateful ideas about women, trans and nonbinary [people] online. Some internet communities even encourage and celebrate gender-based violence.”

The article continues, “Researchers have called for a variety of regulatory and technical improvements to reduce the reach and harmfulness of radical, hateful internet content. Simply banning users who engage in hate speech—deplatforming—has been shown to reduce their reach.” Legislatures must take action on this immediately; the Internet giants will not, because they are benefiting financially from hate and the abuse of women and people of diverse genders.

This is where Canada is, 35 years after 12 aspiring engineers, a nurse and a budget clerk were killed for being women and taking the chance to bravely step into the manosphere.

Today and every day, New Democrats honour the women who lost their lives at École Polytechnique and every victim of gender-based violence. We call on the government and the opposition to stop fuelling hate, take immediate action to end the amplification of misogyny, and end decades of governments' systemic failures to protect the fundamental human rights of women and gender-diverse people in this country.

Bonita Zarrillo

$527,655.00