Statement by the Official Opposition on National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Official Opposition critic for the Status of Women, Niki Ashton (Churchill) made the following statement on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women:

“Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. We commemorate the lives of Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz who were massacred on December 6th 1989 .

They were killed simply because they were women who dared to break a gender divide. Every year we call for action, because misogyny, discrimination and gender based violence continue to provoke fear in the lives of women in Canada and across the globe.

As a young female MP, I am reminded that it is not always laws which hold women back, but fear too. A man walked into the Ecole Polytechnique who hoped to scare women away from their dreams. And so, for the all girls and women who want to be engineers, scientists, artists, lawyers, doctors, leaders and so on, we call for action today.

For the women who want to be treated equally, who want to be respected and not racialized, impoverished or marginalized, and for all women who want to actualize all their choices, whatever they may be, in peace and security, without fear of violence or degradation, we call for action today.

Today and every day, women must have the ability to live without fear, without violence and with choice.”