Mr. Speaker, it is always a bit difficult to rise to speak after listening to such a heartbreaking and personal account. What we heard from the Minister of Women and Gender Equality this morning was a cry from the heart. It is essentially an appeal to us to work together, to make sure that we live in a society, a country, a city, a town where every person is respected for who he or she is, with his or her own unique strengths, weaknesses, values and beliefs, regardless of sex. That is in part what we heard from the minister this morning.
She also spoke to us about our shared responsibility. That is absolutely true. We will get there only if we work hand in hand, whether we are in government in Ottawa, in Quebec City, in Alberta or somewhere else. This morning, I hope that Canadians were able to see how connected we can be. We may sit on opposite sides of the House, but beyond that, we are men and women. Women stand up for each other and must support one another because, as I was saying at committee this week, right now is a terrible time for women.
It is not easy. Violence against women is on the rise. The rate of violence is not slowing down or stopping. It is going up, and I see this clearly as a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, along with my Liberal, Conservative and Bloc Québécois colleagues. We have conducted nine studies in four years and have issued recommendations to strengthen women's safety. Why? It is because the situation is not improving.
Today is the day we set aside to commemorate a past event that is difficult to revisit. It is difficult for me to speak about it here today. It is difficult for the Minister of Women and Gender Equality. It is difficult for our colleague from Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, who was at École Polytechnique in Montreal on the evening of December 6, 1989, when a young man walked in, armed to the teeth. He separated the men from the women. The men were spared.
This was a shocking femicide: Fourteen women lost their lives that night, and for what? It was primarily because they were women. The young man in question was angry because these women were studying for a career in engineering which, at the time, was viewed predominantly as a career for men. In this House, we are fortunate to have among our colleagues the member for Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, who is, I believe, the first female engineer to be elected to Parliament.
That act of violence took place 36 years ago, and we are still talking about it today. Unfortunately, I think we will be talking about it next year and the one after that, since the situation is not currently improving. I remember that event, because I was the same age as those women. I was at university when it happened. At that age, namely, 21, 22 or 23 years old, we were thinking about the future. Life was good. We were studying; the holidays were approaching; the excitement was palpable; studies were drawing to a close, and we had our lives ahead of us. For me, life continued. For those 14 women, life was brutally stopped that night. Other women were also injured that night, and families were broken forever. As I said last week when we were commemorating the start of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, what happened on December 6, 1989, is deeply painful for Quebeckers and Canadians to remember.
I will say the names of the women who were murdered that day so we never forget who they were: 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. Their future was cut short because one day, a man decided they were unwanted, especially in a field like engineering.
In Canada, a woman is murdered every 48 hours. Last year, 240 women and girls lost their lives just because they were women and girls. The numbers keep going up. According to a statement by the Minister of Justice in a recent press release, violent crime in Canada is up 41% since 2015. Canadian police forces report a 39% increase in domestic violence and a 76% increase in sexual assaults. How can we accept that?
Quebec has recorded around 15 cases of femicide since the beginning of the year. This figure varies depending on definitions. Why do my sisters and I have to be afraid when we go out at night? It is not normal for us to live in a constant state of hypervigilance. On top of that, if we cannot go to work or go to school without wondering whether something is going to happen to us, that means we are living in a very sick society. We must do something about that.
However, there is some good news. There was a great show of solidarity on Parliament Hill yesterday when parliamentarians from all parties stood together. In the past few weeks, our colleague from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola introduced Bill C-225, which seeks to strengthen safety for women who are caught in situations of intimate partner violence. The bill was supported by all members of the House. We should be proud of the wonderful moments of humanity we shared this morning, with heartfelt testimonies, including from the Minister of Women and Gender Equality, and of the vote on a private member's bill that took place yesterday. This is not a government bill. It is a private member's bill. I think we can be extremely proud of that.
In fact, this law that was passed yesterday is going to be called Bailey's law. Everyone remembers the story of this woman who was murdered by an ex-partner who had previously been convicted. There were warning signs that this was coming. We will also remember Ms. Renaud, who recently suffered a similar fate in Quebec.
I want to acknowledge the families of our sisters who were gunned down on December 6, 1989. I want us all to remember that we are greatly responsible for each other's safety and, given the circumstances, for the safety of women in particular. Many of us have daughters, wives and mothers. We must make sure women are protected.