It has been over 30 years since the murder of 14 young women at Polytechnique Montréal (December 6, 1989) that saw the promising lives of 14 young women cut violently short. This senseless act of targeted violence shook our country and led Parliament to designate December 6 as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

On December 6, we remember Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.

As we come together to commemorate this national tragedy, we also reflect on the troubling fact that for women, girls and LGBTQ2 individuals across our country violence continues to be a daily reality. Violence will have impacts on their physical, sexual and reproductive health. They may experience anxiety and a reduced ability to participate in social and economic activities, leaving gaps in our workplaces and in our communities as a result of violence.