Posted: Friday, 27 November 2009

On December 6th, we mourn the 14 women killed in Montreal in 1989. On this day we remember all women who are murdered or experience violence by partners, family members and strangers throughout this country. On this day we recommit to take action against all forms of violence against women in our society.

This December 6th will mark 20 years since those 14 young women were murdered in Montreal simply because they were women. Ironically, as this anniversary approaches, our government is trying to do away with the firearms registry, the one concrete measure taken to reduce gun violence against women.

We recognize that ending this violence will only be possible when all women in Canada live in economic and social equality. We know that fighting violence requires governments to pursue an integrated legal, social and economic agenda.

For twenty years, women have been waiting for action. Twenty years is too long. On this anniversary of the December 6th murders, Canadians can take action to demand a serious government commitment to ending violence against women.

The Canadian Labour Congress has developed a campaign asking Canadians to send 20 postcard messages to the federal government. The campaign is called “20 Days 20 Ways to End Violence Against Women”.

Beginning on November 16th, Canadians can send a postcard every day to the Prime Minister to remind him that we need action now.

The CLC’s 20 Days 20 Ways campaign recognizes that a law and order agenda will never end violence against women. Women need a series of comprehensive social and economic policies including:

• maintaining the long gun registry, which has reduced gun-related spousal homicides by 50% since it was started.
• access to affordable, safe housing;
• a living minimum wage;
• effective pay equity laws;
• a national publicly-funded child care programme;
• equal access to Employment Insurance;
• access to justice, including the resources to challenge discriminatory government action and legal aid;
• increased governmental support for women’s centres, rape crisis centres and women’s shelters;
• legal protection and support for women who report sexual assault.

Rather than promoting women’s equality, the federal government is severely limiting women’s capacity to organize, advocate and lobby. They won’t support women’s equality in the workplace and have limited women’s rights to challenge discrimination before the courts.

Canadians cannot accept an erosion of our hard-won and still fragile equality rights. We will not be silenced by the socially conservative government agenda.

We call on the federal government to reverse its policy decisions on childcare, pay equity, the gun registry, the Court Challenges Program and Status of Women Canada. We call on the government to drop its law and order agenda and instead, develop an effective women’s equality agenda.