Mr. Speaker, I rise today on day 12 of the 14 days of action to address violence against women. We count 14 days to commemorate the lives of the 14 young women who were massacred on December 6, 1989. They were killed because they were women. Every year we call for action because explicit misogyny, insidious discrimination and gender-based violence continue to provoke fear in the lives of women in Canada and the lives of our sisters across the globe.
As a young woman standing to address the House of Commons today, I am reminded that it is not always laws that hold women back, but fear too. A man walked into the École Polytechnique who hoped to scare women away from their dreams. Therefore, for the girls who want to be engineers, scientists, artists, lawyers, doctors and leaders, we call for action today. For women who want to be treated equally, who want to be respected and not racialized, impoverished, marginalized, and for all women who want to actualize all their choices, whatever they may be, in peace and security without fear of violence or degradation, we call for action today.
Today and every day women must have what they need to live without fear, without violence and with choice.