Mr. Speaker, 21 years ago, 14 young women were violently murdered at École Polytechnique in Montreal. They were killed because they were women. It was an unspeakable tragedy that forced Canadians to seriously examine the frequency of violence against women.
Every day, women and girls in Canada and throughout the world are victims of emotional, physical and sexual violence, in the majority of cases at the hands of someone they know.
The Liberal Party has taken serious steps to attack the problem of violence against women, including defending the gun registry, which saves lives. However, the battle is not over.
Canadian women should be able to live their lives free of violence, even from the threat of violence, but that is not the case for too many women, particularly first nations, Métis and Inuit women.
Today I want every woman who has experienced gender-based violence to know that the Liberal Party of Canada and our entire parliamentary caucus is committed to end all acts of violence against women.