Mr. Speaker, I will read an excerpt from a letter from 15 women's groups in Quebec to all parliamentarians. It is entitled, “20 years after the massacre at L'École Polytechnique, the gun registry is still necessary.”
The Firearms Act has significantly contributed to decreasing the number of armed assaults in a domestic violence context. The number of women shot with a gun has dropped by more than 50%, going from 85 in 1991 to 32 in 2004. The rate of murders committed with rifles or shotguns has dropped by 70%.
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Putting an end to violence against women and preventing tragedies takes more than just wearing a white ribbon on December 6, every year. It requires concrete action. Voting against Bill C-391 will contribute to keeping women and children safe and preventing massacres like the one at Polytechnique from ever happening again.