OTTAWA, ON – The Hon. Erin O’Toole, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and the Official Opposition, issued the following statement on the sad anniversary of the massacre at the École polytechnique:
“On December 6, 1989, a misogynist murderer, towering with horrible hate, broke the dreams of young women who had their whole lives ahead of them.
“On that day, Canada was the victim of a terrorist attack and a feminicide.
“That terrorist tried to make our country pay for our commitment to gender equality.
“Although he wanted to take his revenge on the emancipation of women, although he wanted to make us pay for our deepest values, his horrible crime was unable to do it.
“The massacre at the École Polytechnique showed our whole country how fragile progress can be.
“But our country never gave up in the face of terror.
“The women who tragically died that day are still alive today, through all the little girls who dream big and seek a better life.
“They live through every woman who receives her iron ring as an engineer.
“They live through women MPs at the House of Commons and in provincial legislatures.
“And they live in the heart of the families who have unfairly lost a loved one.
“I stand up to say loudly and clearly that we will never, never forget their names.
“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.
“Those names are engraved in the memory of our nation. They are symbols of the freedoms we cherish.
“Thirty-one years later, their names resonate across the country as we remember the sacrifices, the sorrows and the tragedies women suffered in the sake of equality between men and women.
“What seems basic today is the result of the long battles of brave women who have changed the history of our country.
“The victims of Polytechnique are among them.
“During this pandemic, we must act against that other crisis, the increase of the violence against women.
“Too many women are subjected to bullying and domestic violence.
“We must do everything to ensure that another tragedy like the one at École Polytechnique never happens again.
“The memory of the victims guides us and makes us realize that we must never let down our guard.
“I remember you.
“All of Canada remembers.”
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For more information:
Chelsea Tucker
chelsea.tucker@parl.gc.ca
(613) 219-3790
Axel Rioux
axel.rioux@parl.gc.ca
(613) 291-7125
