Mr. Speaker, on December 6, 1989, 14 women were killed and another 10 were injured at the École polytechnique de Montréal, simply for being women.
Gender-based violence continues to plague our society to this day. It can take many different forms, including physical, sexual or online violence, and can manifest in insidious ways, through actions intended to maintain a hold over someone, such as defamation, coercion and criminal harassment. All this can cause psychological harm to victims.
Gender-based violence is an issue that our government cares deeply about. We are working tirelessly to combat this scourge. Every December 6, we commemorate the 14 women who were so cruelly snatched away from their loved ones, and we condemn the tragic consequences of gender-based violence.