Canada's NDP

Skip to main content

December 6th, 2019

NDP Statement on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s NDP, issued the following statement:

"The hatred of women that fueled the shooter on this day thirty years ago has not gone anywhere. It’s here, every two and a half days when a woman or girl is killed in our country, most often by someone she knows.

Thirty years after Canadians said ‘never again’ in the wake of the École Polytechnique tragedy, we need to collectively acknowledge that we have a long way to go to live up to that commitment.

Systemic change starts with governments taking men’s violence against women seriously with a funded national action plan to end gender-based violence. When we listen to women and believe them when they share their experiences. When men work every day to become better feminist allies. When we make sure that when a woman, girl or trans-person needs access to counselling or a shelter – it’s there for them, with no wait, no matter where they live. When the groups providing these services on the ground have stable funding.

And when all of us in this House name this epidemic for what it is: men’s violence against women.

All women and girls have the right to full humanity, to safety, happiness, freedom and ambition. And we must back these rights with action, in the memory of the thousands of women and girls killed by men’s violence.

On this day, we owe them nothing less.”