Today, Dec. 6, is the anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Port Moody–Coquitlam NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo delivered a sobering speech on the topic in the House of Commons.
"It has been 35 years since Barbara Kuchnik-Vijadavich, Annie Turcotte, Annie St-Arneault, Michèle Richard, Sonia Pelletier, Anne-Marie Lemay, Maryse Leclair, Maryse Laganière, Maud Haviernick, Anne-Marie Edward, Barbara Dayneault, Nathalie Croteau, Hélène Colgan and Geneviève Bergeron were murdered for being a woman.
New Democrats will always remember the women of Polytechnique Montreal as they lost their lives to patriarchy and white privilege. This deadly combination continues, with the upholding of male supremacy across the globe.
It is called misogyny: an ingrained prejudice and contempt for women.
It is misogyny that has kept women excluded from the hallways of power. It is what has limited their job opportunities, income, ability to move freely in community, be safe from violence or to even have the healthcare they need.
And, for Indigenous women in Canada, the impacts are even more deadly.
Indigenous women are killed at seven times the rate of non-Indigenous women in Canada. This is a recognized genocide that has become so normalized in this country that when an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit individual goes missing or is killed, it barely makes the news.
That reality is happening right now in Winnipeg where murdered Indigenous women have been abandoned in a landfill.
And it was not a given that the hallways of power would offer dignity to these women and search for them wherever they were. No, it took the pressure of sisters to get it done and I take a moment here to recognize the power of the NDP member from Winnipeg Centre, who fought alongside Indigenous women and their families and created a red-dress alert system to find and protect Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
This is what action on violence against women looks like.
It is shameful that women and diverse-gender people in this country need to stand on guard because, in 35 years, misogyny has not dissipated; in fact, it has increased. With the reach of online gaming and social media, misogyny now has a new name: manospheres.
These are clubs, podcasts, books and influencers who use these platforms to radicalize young males through a combination of algorithmic design, social dynamics and exposure to extremist ideologies.
Remember these words: Algorithmic Amplification, Gamification of Hate, Normalization of Misogyny, Recruitment of Vulnerability men, and lack of Counter-Messaging.
These are all enemies of human rights and are the new wave of violence against women and diverse genders.
Right now, the Winnipeg Human Rights Museum draws the country’s attention to the fact, and I quote from their website, "that a growing number of men spread hateful ideas about women, trans and non-binary people online. Some internet communities even encourage and celebrate gender-based violence.
Researchers have called for a variety of regulatory and technical improvements to reduce the reach and harmfulness of radical, hateful internet content. Simply banning users who engage in hate speech — deplatforming them — has been shown to reduce their reach. Legislatures must take action on this immediately as the internet giants will not because they are financially benefiting from hate.
So, this is where Canada is at 35 years after 14 aspiring engineers were killed for being women, and bravely stepping into the manosphere.
Today, and every day, New Democrats honour the women who lost their lives at École Polytechnique, and to every victim of gender-based violence.
And we call on the government and the Opposition to stop fuelling hate, take immediately action to end the amplification of misogyny and end decades of government’s systemic failures to protect the fundamental human rights of women and gender-diverse people in this country."
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