Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise on this traditional territory the Algonquin people call home on this day that many Canadians will remember for generations to come.

Today, from coast to coast to coast, roses will be laid, tears will be shed and candles will be lit as we all remember the young women who lost their lives on December 6, 1989. On this day 29 years ago, an act of unspeakable violence occurred when a gunman walked into a classroom at École Polytechnique Montréal, separated the women from the men and then opened fire on the women. Thirteen young women who were students and a female administrator died that day, and several were wounded, simply because they were women.

This is a day to rededicate ourselves to ending gender-based violence, because when those women were killed, we did not just lose daughters, friends and colleagues, we lost all the potential that existed within each individual. We lost role models. We lost engineers. We lost community builders. We lost leaders who could have potentially been sitting in these seats today. It was a tremendous loss for our nation. We will never know what they may have achieved.

Today, we honour their memory by speaking their names: 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.

Those were young women in their twenties and early thirties. Speaking their names reminds us that there are so many other victims of gender-based violence whose names and stories we may never know. Today we honour all those who have died because of gender-based violence.

This is a day to also honour and recognize the important work of those who care for victims and survivors. This is a day to recognize the courage of survivors whose resilience reminds us why we must continue the fight to end gender-based violence.

We think of Nathalie Provost, who, on that day in 1989, confronted the gunman. She was shot four times, but she survived and is now a successful engineer. Another student that day, Heidi Rathjen, also survived the shooting and is now an advocate for stricter gun control. We stand in solidarity with them and with all survivors and the families of those who have been impacted by gender-based violence.

We continue to be inspired by the ongoing power of the # MeToo movement. For more than a year, the movement has been motivating people to share their stories, to recognize the persistence of the problem and to call for meaningful action. We must respond to their courage with courage. Anything less is cowardice.

As my hon. colleagues know, December 6 falls within the annual 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. These 16 days begin on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25, a day that also honours women who were needlessly murdered: three sisters, Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa Mirabal, who were assassinated in the Dominican Republic in 1964 for their political activism. The 16 days ends with Human Rights Day on December 10. This year's theme is #MYActionsMatter.

We all play a part in ending and preventing gender-based violence. Some wonder why our government is investing in advancing gender equality, why we have a $200-million strategy to end gender-based violence, why a third of the national housing strategy is carved out for women fleeing violence, why we are reforming our justice system to better serve cases of domestic assault and sexual assault, why we have worked together across parties in this House to pass legislation to address workplace harassment and sexual violence, and why we are making new investments to end cyber-violence and to improve the relationships our teenagers have. It is because there is a lot of work to do. The work remains. Our shelters remain full. The demand for services goes up. We all work toward the day when, as Oprah says, “no one will have to say ‘me too’ again.”

We are proud of our achievements, but nothing we do can rewrite history. On this day 29 years ago, 14 young women died simply because they were women. This anniversary will continue to act as a constant reminder of what misogyny and hatred can lead to. In honouring their memories, in speaking their names, they live on as an inspiration to all of us to keep working together to reduce and eliminate gender-based violence in all its forms.

Maryam Monsef

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