31st Anniversary of the
Polytechnique Tragedy
End All Forms of Violence Against Women!
- Women's Forum -
December 6, 2020 marked the 31st anniversary of
the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal,
one of the most tragic events to have struck
Quebec and Canadian society. On December 6,
1989, an individual opened fire on 28 people,
killing 14 women and injuring 10 other women and
four men, before committing suicide himself. At
least
four people have ended their lives as a result
of this tragedy.
It is to the credit of women and their
organizations that on this occasion they
reiterate their demand for the elimination of
all forms of violence against themselves and
their children, as well as in all of the
society. The 12 Days of Action Against Violence
were launched in Quebec on November 25,
International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women, as well as the 16 Days
of Action internationally from November 25 to
December 10, International Human Rights Day.
Despite the pandemic, virtual meetings on
Facebook, vigils, book launches and other
activities are taking place during this period
to remember and examine the struggle within
today's conditions.
Women's starting point is not the self-serving
viewpoint of governments which feebly oppose
violence against women by presenting it as a
matter of behaviour, to better pursue with
impunity their neo-liberal anti-social agenda of
destruction and violence against society. They
reject this hypocritical vision that permits the
conditions which
contribute to violence against women to
continue. Women and progressive forces are
waging a courageous and inspiring battle,
demanding that the government assume its social
responsibility towards them. In order to combat
all forms of violence, it must guarantee their
rights to security, housing, health care and
education, including child care,
along with all the necessary resources to combat
all forms of violence. Women and the society
have every right to demand a responsible
society. As full-fledged members of the society
and to fully participate in all spheres of life,
women are fighting for the living conditions
they deserve. This is all the more inspiring
within the context of
the COVID-19 pandemic, with all its imposed
containment and isolation, and political,
social, cultural and economic degeneration
within society.
The organization of the 12 Days of Action in
Quebec notes: "Months of a pandemic and weeks of
quarantine in the Spring of 2020 have brought
out violence that we thought was in the past.
Other acts of violence have worsened,
intensified, and transformed: Gender-based and
sexual violence, but also the violence of not
being seen or heard. The
impact of this systemic violence is felt among
all women, including among Aboriginal women,
health workers, among national minority and
immigrant women, among LGBTQ + people, among
women with disabilities, among women confined,
incarcerated, without status, sex workers, and
among homeless women.
"As forms of violence multiply, the barriers to
access to services are rising and have shown us
how no right or form of protection should be
taken for granted. And this systemic violence
persists all the more insidiously as it grows in
silence."
A Behavioural Problem, Says the Trudeau
Government
 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and
the Minister of Crown-Aboriginal Relations,
Carolyn Bennett, stood up during the first week
of December to spew out the worst absurdities
and hypocritical statements about Indigenous
women, so-called racialized national
minority women, and the most vulnerable. The
more they name and categorize women, the more
they marginalize and dehumanize them. Minister
Bennett called on Canadians to take action if we
witness violence against women, to give time and
money to non-governmental organizations working
to end violence, saying that racialized women,
LGBTQs, Indigenous women, etc. need us and are
counting on us.
In her intervention, there is an "us" and a
"them" and the role of the "us" is to help, to
be aware of violence, to raise our voices, to
give money and to become volunteers. As if women
as a collective does not exist, nor the
government's social responsibility to ensure the
well-being of all.
For his part, Justin Trudeau reduced violence
to a matter of misogynistic behaviour and said
that women "should not have to be afraid to
succeed, to be ambitious or to advocate for a
better future. Gender equality is
non-negotiable, now and forever."
The problem of equality is not an abstraction
as the Prime Minister suggests. The reality is
that those who govern are not equal to those who
are the victims of their governments.
He spoke about violence during the pandemic:
"It has been difficult for everyone, so imagine
how much harder it has been for those who do not
feel safe at home, but do not feel like they
have anywhere else to go. It is a simple fact.
Gender-based violence has been made worse by
this pandemic. That is unacceptable." He
announced a
never-ending action plan on gender-based
violence. "We are ready to do that [...] work
alongside advocates, volunteers and all those
who are fighting for change," he said. However,
he made sure to keep silent about the violent
and unsustainable working conditions facing
women, including nurses, teachers, daycare
workers and all women working
in services, to name but a few, who are not
included in his so-called national plan on
gender-based violence.
He unabashedly spoke of the assault weapons
lobby, saying "there is no place in our country
for weapons designed to kill the largest number
of people in the shortest amount of time." This,
despite the fact that his government is actively
involved in weapons and war procurement as well
as the aggressive and military activities of
NATO as a
member. From November 20-22 in Halifax, for a
12th consecutive year, Canada hosted the Halifax
International Security Forum, hosted by NATO and
supported by the world's largest arms dealers
and other private interests that demand
increased military spending, intensified war
preparations and control of all interests that
oppose their own. In
that forum, the enhancement of women's
recruitment into the army and in so-called
leading positions to deploy our youth as cannon
fodder was discussed. Canadian foreign policy is
a pro-war policy marked by interference,
intrigues against Venezuela on the eve of the
December 6 election, support for the repressive
and corrupt government of
Haiti, and refusal to condemn the repression in
Chile. These are all "gestures or words" that
permit the worst violence against women.
Women in the Forefront of the Struggle to
Eliminate Violence
Against Themselves and Their Children
   December 6, 2019. Commemoration in
Montreal on the occasion of the 30th anniversary
of the École Polytechnique tragedy, at Place du
6-décembre-1989.
Women's experience and struggles are light
years away from government discourse, which no
longer fools even the most gullible. For a long
time now they've been speaking out in their
marches, speeches, demonstrations, demands and
petitions for the elimination of all forms of
violence. They demand a change in the direction
of the economy
towards a pro-social direction that requires new
arrangements and the renewal of institutions
that no longer function and are blocking
society's advance.
Women are fighting for decision-making power
so as to humanize society. A process is in place
which is blocking discussion in order to keep
women at the mercy of governments which are
depriving the people of decision-making power
that would enable them to end all forms of
violence and to exercise control over all issues
of concern to
them. Women require new arrangements when they
call for massive investments in health care,
education and social programs, women's rights
organizations, shelters, as well as when they
call for an end to the ongoing violence suffered
by women, especially Indigenous women, thousands
of whom have gone missing or have been murdered.
On this 31st anniversary of the Polytechnique
tragedy, we pay tribute to the 14 young women
who lost their lives: to 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,
to the missing or murdered Indigenous women and
to the thousands of women and children who have
been victims of violence in all its forms. We
continue the struggle for its elimination!
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 11 - December 9, 2020
Volume [volume] Number [issue] - [date]
Article Link:
31st Anniversary of the
Polytechnique Tragedy: End All Forms of Violence Against Women! - Women's Forum
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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