Today marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. On December 6, 1989, 14 young women were killed at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. The shooter entered a mechanical engineering classroom, separated the men from the women, and opened fire on the women. These 14 promising young students were murdered in an act of violent misogyny.

Today, as we pause and remember 33 years later, violence against women and girls remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation in Canada and worldwide, affecting an estimated one in three women.

In Ottawa this year, six women and one 15-year-old girl have been murdered. All of these murders involved allegations of intimate partner violence, stalking or obsession. This is consistent with a Statistics Canada report that revealed seven out of 10 female homicide victims last year were killed by spouses, partners or family members.

The report from the Renfrew county inquest into femicides that took place in 2015 included a recommendation to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. Sadly, the government has yet to follow through on this and the other recommendations in the report.

We have a problem. We need to act now. We cannot lose any more of our mothers and sisters and daughters and friends. The Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women and similar organizations across this province are all working towards the same goal: eliminating gender-based violence. But they can’t do this work alone. We all need to work together to end violence against women so that no more women in this country need to die simply for being women.

Thank you, Speaker. If you seek it, you will find that there is unanimous consent for me to say a few words as we remember the victims of the Montreal massacre today.

This is a very serious topic, and it’s important that we address hate in all of its forms. We’re seeing the rise of hate as it relates to religion, gender—all sorts of different ways of describing it. It’s something this government takes very seriously. It’s something that we’re investing in to make sure that we have the supports for those who are the victims and it’s something that we’re making sure goes to the front of everything that we do to make sure that we have people in safe communities and the kind of communities that they want to live in.

Resources are available. If people are not feeling comfortable, then they can reach out. And I note, in particular, we can chat offline or after question period, if you wish, about the resources that are available, because it is important, Mr. Speaker. We’re talking about our friends and our families and our children and our parents. We want to make sure that everybody is comfortable in Ontario.

The ayes are 67; the nays are 25.

It is our solemn duty to learn from the past, continue to support survivors of violence and acknowledge the names and the memory of women and girls who have tragically had their lives cut short.

Speaker, if I may, I would like to read the names of the women who died on that terrible day in Montreal:

—Geneviève Bergeron, age 21;

—Hélène Colgan, age 23;

—Nathalie Croteau, age 23;

—Barbara Daigneault, age 22;

—Anne-Marie Edward, age 21;

—Maud Haviernick, age 29;

—Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz, age 31;

—Maryse Laganière, age 25;

—Maryse Leclair, age 23;

—Anne-Marie Lemay, age 22;

—Sonia Pelletier, age 28;

—Michèle Richard, age 21;

—Annie St-Arneault, age 23;

—Annie Turcotte, age 20.

On that terrible day, 14 young women who were experiencing some of the best years of their lives lost everything because they were women. As I read those names, I am struck by how much potential each one of these young women had. Their lives were only just beginning. They had achievements waiting for them, memories to be made, people to connect with and, undoubtedly, so much more to experience in life.

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is a time to mourn this loss of life and a time to restate our commitment to ending gender-based violence. Our government has zero tolerance for violence against women and girls. We believe that all Ontarians have the right to live freely, safely and in peace. Sadly, the majority of Canadians know someone who has been abused. The statistics are staggering: One in three Canadian women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Women are three times more likely to be stalked and three and a half times more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence. Approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner.

Speaker, as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, a physician and a mother, these statistics are deeply concerning. That is why we are working with community partners to prevent violence against women and ensure that survivors have the supports that they need. We’re also working with all levels of government, and we were pleased to endorse the first National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence last month.

Words are not enough. We are investing millions in programming to address the root causes of this violence and implementing innovative programming to support recovery. For example, last year we invested $11 million in violence prevention initiatives and nearly $200 million in services and supports for survivors of violence. This investment provides critical services such as crisis lines, sexual assault centres and emergency shelters for women and their children.

It also funds programs across the province that connect women who have experienced violence with a wide range of wraparound supports to help them heal and rebuild their lives. These supports include safety planning, counselling, mental health services, supportive housing and culturally responsive healing programs.

We’re also investing in additional community supports specifically for victims and survivors of human trafficking through our five-year, $307-million anti-human trafficking strategy. Many of these programs are focused on children and youth, as they are at increased risk of being targeted, lured, groomed and manipulated by traffickers due to their young age and vulnerability.

We are now in the third year of our strategy to combat human trafficking and child sexual exploitation, and we will continue to use every tool we can to reach these girls before offenders have the opportunity to exploit them.

It is also critical that we work to support culturally responsive interventions and solutions to human trafficking and broader issues of violence against Indigenous women. Indigenous women are three times more likely to experience violent victimization than non-Indigenous women, and they are two and a half times more likely to experience spousal violence. Indigenous women and girls also experience increased vulnerabilities to being targeted by human traffickers and being trafficked. In response to this, we are investing $96 million in community organizations that support victims and survivors of trafficking through our anti-human trafficking strategy—including programs designed by and for Indigenous people. We are also investing $80 million this year in the Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy, which supports a continuum of Indigenous-designed-and-delivered holistic programs. These programs focus on reducing family violence and violence against Indigenous women and children, as well as improving Indigenous healing, health and wellness.

This work is so important in our elimination of gender-based violence, and we will not stop until every woman and girl can live without fear.

We must continue to have open and honest conversations about violence against women, and encourage survivors to bring their stories forward as they feel safe doing so. And we must continue to educate boys and girls, men and women, about what a healthy, equal and non-violent relationship looks like.

I ask all members of this House to join me in honouring the women whose lives have been cut short by violence, and to commit to creating safer communities and a better future for all women and girls.