Madam Speaker, this week, I attended the launch of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence at Ottawa City Hall, hosted by GRAN advocates, Interval House of Ottawa and the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women. We joined together to light buildings in purple, including City Hall and the Peace Tower, to symbolize our determination to end violence against women.
For the dedicated organizations and volunteers leading these efforts, activism is not limited to 16 days. It is 365 days a year. Our national action plan to end gender-based violence and our feminist international assistance policy provide funding to frontline organizations doing the hard work to support survivors and make real change. At a time when demeaning language and objectification of women is becoming normalized, we stand in solidarity to say that this is not normal. Together, we can end gender-based violence.