Debates of the Senate 1st SESSION . 42nd PARLIAMENT . VOLUME 150 . NUMBER 83 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, December 6, 2016 The Honourable GEORGE J. FUREY Speaker CONTENTS (Daily index of proceedings appears at back of this issue). Debates Services: D'Arcy McPherson, National Press Building, Room 906, Tel. 613-995-5756 Publications Centre: Kim Laughren, National Press Building, Room 926, Tel. 613-947-0609 Published by the Senate Available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1955 THE SENATE Tuesday, December 6, 2016 The Senate met at 2 p.m., the Speaker in the chair. the women up side by side, he yelled, ``You're all a bunch of feminists. I hate feminists.'' Prayers. He lifted his rifle, pointed it toward the first woman's head and [Translation] shot her in the forehead. He would go on to do the same for the other five standing alongside. L'ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE DE MONTRÉAL The shots echoed through the hallways. Students nearby heard the horrifying screams and scrambled for help. COMMEMORATION OF TRAGEDY—SILENT TRIBUTE On that dark day, 14 women lost their lives. And the gunman's suicide note stated that women had no place in engineering The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, before we proceed, because they would take jobs from men, that feminists were I would ask you to rise and observe one minute of silence in ruining his life, and that his intention was to end the lives of all memory of the victims of the tragedy that occurred at l'École women in the Department of Engineering. Polytechnique de Montréal on December 6, 1989. Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Honourable senators then stood in silent tribute. Violence against Women, and I wish to pay tribute to these 14 brave women who lost their lives 27 years ago. Their only sin [English] was that they had dared to dream they could be engineers. Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire was the first woman to graduate VISITORS IN THE GALLERY from the civil engineering program at École Polytechnique de Montréal. Asked about a possible solution to gender-based violence, she said, ``One way to move forward after an event like The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw this is to continue encouraging girls and women to stay in fields your attention to the presence in the gallery of the Honourable like engineering.'' Jackson Lafferty, M.L.A., Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, accompanied by Mr. R.J. Simpson, M.L.A. Currently, there are about 2,000 women enrolled in the Polytechnique's Department of Engineering. That is about 25 per cent of the total number of engineering students. On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada. Honourable senators, remarkably, violence against women remains all too common today. According to the World Health Hon. Senators: Hear, hear! Organization, one in three women experience some form of violence in their lifetime, and most of this is by their partners. It doesn't take much thinking to remember the assaults and abuses against young women recently all over the world. No doubt you yourselves are remembering, perhaps even someone you know. December 6 is an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the SENATORS' STATEMENTS phenomenon of violence against women in our society and to commemorate women, such as those 14 students in Montreal who died on that Wednesday afternoon 27 years ago. L'ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE DE MONTRÉAL And they are: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF TRAGEDY Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Hon. Judith Seidman: It was a cold Wednesday afternoon when Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte. a young man walked into École Polytechnique de Montréal armed with a 223-calibre rifle. The date was December 6, 1989. Thank you. He entered a classroom of engineering students and instantly ordered all six women to the back and the men to leave. Lining Hon. Senators: Hear, hear. 1956 SENATE DEBATES December 6, 2016 NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND ACTION Hon. Nancy Hartling: Honourable senators, colleagues, today, ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN December 6, is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the Hon. Lillian Eva Dyck: Honourable senators, today is National murders in 1989 of the 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women. de Montréal. They died because they were women. I first want to start off by offering my support and voice to the As well as commemorating the 14 young women whose lives thousands of women who are the targets of violence. This is ended in an act of gender-based violence that shocked our nation, unacceptable, especially in 2016. December 6 represents an opportunity for all Canadians to reflect on violence against women in society. It is an opportunity to On December 6, 1989, a deeply troubled young man with a consider the women and girls for whom violence is a daily reality violent attitude towards women unleashed his disturbed and to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based sentiments by killing 14 female engineering students at École violence. Finally, it is a day on which communities can consider Polytechnique de Montréal. In the aftermath of the massacre, we actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls learned that the killer grew up in an environment where abuse worldwide. against women was common. On December 6, 1989, I sat in my car in Moncton and I listened . (1410) to the news on the radio. I was shaking and shocked. I can still feel that today. Since that time in Moncton, in my home, I have worked with others, first to mourn and then to work for change. Today too many women are still subjected to abuse, including Sadly, over 40 women have died of violence in our area since sexual assaults out in our society, in the workplace, and even 1989. within their homes. We have put up monuments, held vigils, run programs, The situation is even more dire when we look at violence against developed resources and educated people that violence is not Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women and girls are three to four acceptable in any form, whether physical or emotional. times more likely to be murdered or sexually assaulted than any other woman. There are about 1,200 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. This national crisis Today I ask you to take action. Especially, I want to encourage has prompted the government to create its National Inquiry into the men in the Senate. All of you have mothers, right? Some of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. you have sisters, daughters, granddaughters. We need a united front to end violence. We need all of you to work for change because until all of us are free of violence, none of us are free. I would like to congratulate the commissioners of the inquiry: Chief Commissioner the Honourable Marion Buller, and Today I wear my purple scarf as a symbol of courage, survival Commissioners Michèle Audette, Qajaq Robinson, Marilyn and honour for the women who have experienced violence or who Poitras and Bryan Eyolfson. The task ahead of them is have been murdered by intimate partners. Today I especially tremendously important, and I want to support them and offer remember Elana Fric-Shamji, who was murdered this week, all them my prayers that they have the strength and wisdom to deal the missing and murdered Aboriginal women and all those girls with this horrific tragedy. still trapped in abusive relationships. I urge you to work for change, and you may seek ideas from the display out in the Colleagues, recently Statistics Canada confirmed what many of chamber, or you can ask me and I will give you ideas. There are a us knew intuitively — that simply being Aboriginal is a risk factor lot of things we can do. for violence for females but not for males. In order to reduce this risk, I am sponsoring Bill S-215 in the Senate, which will toughen On my first day here on November 15, the Peace Tower was lit penalties for violent offences against Aboriginal women. in purple. Today our flag is at half-mast, reminding us to eliminate violence. I believe I am in a hopeful place. Thank you. Part of the sad legacy of colonialism is the perception that Aboriginal women are easy sexual targets whom no one cares about. This disenfranchisement and outright discrimination VISITOR IN THE GALLERY against Aboriginal women as a consequence of the Indian Act make Aboriginal women and girls one of the most vulnerable populations in Canada. The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Mr. Bob Wyatt, Executive Director of the Muttart Foundation. He is the guest of Honourable senators, it is our job to fight for equality and the the Honourable Senator Lankin, P.C. values enshrined in the Constitution and in the Charter. As a senator, I will continue to champion initiatives that help women, On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the particularly those most vulnerable, such as Aboriginal women, Senate of Canada. achieve equality and reach their full potential. I thank you for your support in the past and look forward to your continuing support.