Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House on behalf of the entire Conservative Party to honour the memory of the women who were killed in the massacre at École Polytechnique in Montreal.
On December 6, 1989, a misogynistic murderer driven by deep hatred shattered the dreams of young women who had their entire lives ahead of them. Let's call a spade a spade: that day, Canada suffered a terrorist attack, a femicide, an anti-feminist killing spree. This man was a terrorist, but although he wanted to make our country pay for its commitment to gender equality, although he wanted revenge against the women's movement, although he wanted us to pay for the values we hold most dear, his heinous crime failed to achieve those goals.
The murders at Polytechnique showed our entire country how fragile our progress can be. It showed how easily our progress can be attacked. However, our country has never bowed down to terrorism. The women who were tragically killed that day live on in all the little girls who dream big and aspire to a good life. They live on in every female engineer who receives her iron ring. They live on in the women who are elected to the House of Commons. They live on in the hearts of the families who have so unfairly lost a loved one.
As we approach December 6, I rise in the House to read those women's names aloud, for they will never be forgotten: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte. These names are forever etched in the memory of our country. They are symbols of the freedoms we cherish and, 31 years later, their names echo across the country as we remember the sacrifices, the pain and the tragedies that these women experienced in the name of equal opportunity and equal respect between men and women.
These seem like basic concepts to us today because of the brave women who fought long and hard to change our country's history. The women who died at École Polytechnique were no exception. As our country confronts a public health crisis, it is more important than ever to care for our loved ones and to be there for people living alone. During this pandemic, we must take action against another shadow crisis, the rise of violence against women. Far too many women are still experiencing intimidation and domestic violence. We must do everything we can to prevent a tragedy like École Polytechnique from ever happening again. As we remember these victims, we remember that we must never let our guard down. I remember you. Canada remembers.
Thirty-one years ago, 14 young women were struck down in a horrible massacre at École Polytechnique in Montreal. As we remember them today, we can tell Canadians that they live on every time a young woman receives her iron ring as an engineer; every time we cross a threshold, as we did last week with 100 women in the chamber; and every time their friends and communities remember them. They live on, and 31 years later, our resolute defence of our values that were attacked that day stands strong, as does our commitment to fight even harder for equality and opportunity, and live up to the values our country holds dear.
On sombre days like this when we remember the victims, let us recommit to ending violence toward women and those vulnerable in our society. In a pandemic, when worry and mental health are touching every corner of our country and every family within the Canadian family, let us make sure that no one is isolated, no one is forgotten and that there is zero tolerance toward violence in our society.