Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago today, 14 women were murdered in an anti-feminist attack at École Polytechnique in Montreal. It has been 30 years since Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau and Barbara Daigneault were killed in cold blood, 30 years since the lives of Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair and Anne-Marie Lemay were tragically cut short, 30 years since we lost Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
We gather today to mourn the loss of these women, these daughters, sisters, friends and colleagues.
Each December, as we honour the memories of those 14 women, the survivors and the families, we promise to do better, but the reality is that in 30 years things have not changed enough. Women, girls and people of diverse gender identities still face unacceptable and preventable violence, violence that destroys lives, families and communities. It is more than time for change.
It is more than time to put an end to gender-based violence, including the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, because it is more than time to build a country where everyone is safe and where everyone's rights are respected and realized.
To find the way forward, we need only look around. From coast to coast to coast, people are coming together and saying enough is enough. Students and parents, women and men are saying no to misogyny, to sexism, to hatred and to discrimination.
To the survivors, advocates and everyday Canadians who have taken up this work, their courage is powerful and we will always stand with them.
Actions speak louder than words. That is why we will be building on the progress made under Canada's strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence in order to develop a national action plan. That is also why we are investing in women-led organizations in Canada and around the world. However, we cannot stop there. We need to do more, because even to this day, people in our communities are still losing loved ones to gun violence.
This fall, I announced that we will strengthen gun laws and ban the types of weapons used at École polytechnique. These weapons, designed to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time, have no place in our communities, in our streets, in our country. Too many lives have already been lost, and thoughts and prayers will not stop another tragedy. It is time to take real steps to end gun violence in Canada.
On December 6, 1989, I was in CEGEP, just a few blocks away from the École Polytechnique. I will never forget that deadly night.
As we come together today to remember the tragic events of 30 years ago, we must take action, on behalf of our sisters, our daughters and all Canadians, to ensure that it never happens again.