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Issues & Campaigns
CAUT Statement on December 6

Violence against women and girls is not just a women’s issue but a societal issue. It is the world’s largest and most persistent human rights violation, and Canada is no exception. Over 50% of Canadian women will experience violence at some point in their lives.

More than twenty years after the events of December 6, 1989, the federal government fails to have a national action plan to end violence against women and girls. Instead, the Conservative government is committed to weakening gun control. This past week, for a third time since 2006, the government announced that the implementation of gun marking regulations which can be used by the police to quickly trace guns used in crimes would be delayed until 2012.

Rather than supporting initiatives to help end violence against women and girls, the federal government has de-funded organizations that advocate on behalf of the vulnerable. A recent example is the cut in funding to the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s Sisters in Spirit initiative – a comprehensive database used to track missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

On December 6, we must not only remember the women murdered at l'École Polytechnique but also renew our resolve to hold our federal government accountable and demand that Canada be a place where all people can live safe and healthy lives.