Mr. Speaker, tomorrow marks the sixth anniversary of the Montreal massacre.
At the Women's World Conference in Beijing, it was agreed that violence against women is not a private issue and that states must exercise due diligence to make sure violence does not occur in the home or elsewhere. At the same conference, Canada introduced and passed a motion that reaffirms rape as a war crime, a crime against humanity. It introduces rape as an act of genocide.
Advances are being made, but there is still much to do, still many barriers to cross, still more awareness to raise, and unfortunately more shelters to keep open.
It is with the memory of the 14 women killed in Montreal on December 6 that we continue to pursue a just society and a better tomorrow.