Today, the Hon. Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, released the following statement on the anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre:

“There were 14 of them. They were young, smart, and filled with ambition. Exactly 30 years ago today, these young women were heading to university.

“When they got up that morning, maybe they were nervously thinking of the exam period starting soon. They might have been thinking of future projects, the upcoming holidays, or reuniting with their families and loved ones.

“All their hopes and dreams were brutally ended that afternoon, when a man committed a violent crime. On December 6th, 1989, at the École Polytechnique, he separated men and women and started shooting the women, murdering 14 women and wounding many others.

“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 lost their lives.

“The victims of the École Polytechnique were targeted because they were women. Thirty years later, we pause on this day, December 6th, to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

“As a father of three young girls, as a brother to two sisters and as a husband, it pains me to think that women are still a target, that women are concerned for their safety, just because they are women.

“I call on all Canadians to demonstrate how much we value the safety, dignity and value of every life, of every single woman.

“Let us remember them, and through our actions, thirty years later, honour the memory of these innocent victims.”