Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday was December 6th, the 22nd anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, a horrendous and violent act against women in 1989 that took place at the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal: the shooting of 23 women in the engineering program, 14 of whom were killed.
December 6th is titled Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. I attended a vigil last night to honour and remember the 14 victims of the Montreal Massacre and to honour and remember all women who have been killed or affected by violence. It was heartening to see the Premier, the Minister responsible for Women, at the vigil, as well as the Minister of Justice. Every year the number of men at the vigil commemorating the Montreal Massacre grows.
I note that many Members of this House are wearing a white ribbon today. That’s also heartening. The White Ribbon Campaign signifies men working to end violence against women. Wearing a white ribbon is a man’s personal pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls. Wearing a white ribbon is a way of saying our future has no violence against women. I congratulate and thank each and every man who wears the white ribbon showing that commitment.
The NWT has a very high incidence of violent acts against women and particularly against Aboriginal women, almost double the rate in southern jurisdictions. In Nunavut it’s four times the rate in the South.
In 1989 the Coalition on Family Violence, of which the GNWT is an integral part, a coalition of 21 non-government and government organizations was formed. In 2003 the coalition developed the NWT Family Violence Action Plan: Phase 1. In November 2009 the coalition produced the Family Violence Action Plan: Phase 2, a document that was a successor to Phase 1 of the action plan. The coalition has been actively pursuing Phase 2 of the plan over the last two years, but it’s a plan whose funding will sunset at the end of March 2012.
Some months ago the coalition developed and published Phase 3 of the Family Violence Action Plan, following on the activities in Phase 2. The Phase 3 Family Violence Action Plan has 19 recommendations which will require continued funding by the GNWT for any results to be realized.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
In the last 10 years we’ve made progress in battling family violence and particularly violence against women. Increased access to shelters is just one example of the coalition’s successes. Now is not the time to stop the activities of the coalition. Ongoing and constructive work must continue. The job is not yet complete. We cannot yet say our future has no violence against women.
I will have questions for the Minister of the Executive at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
