Day of remembrance on violence against women brings call to save gun registry

JORDAN PRESS
Postmedia News

OTTAWA — On the steps of Parliament Hill, whipped by biting cold air, Suzanne Laplante-Edward on Tuesday remembered her daughter Anne-Marie Edward who was murdered 22 years ago at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.

On Dec. 6, 1989, Marc Lépine walked into the engineering school of the University of Montreal with a semi-automatic rifle and shot 28 people and killing 14. He then took his own life.

That event planted the seeds for the long-gun registry, and Laplante-Edward said its existence gives her the knowledge her daughter did not die in vain.

On Oct. 25 — Anne-Marie Edward’s birthday — the Conservative government introduced legislation to kill the long-gun registry. “We need not lose a tool that is proven to save Canadian lives,” Laplante-Edward said, standing before a crowd of about 300 waving placards demanding the registry stay.

Interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel said the scrapping of the registry was tantamount to “turning back the clock on women’s rights.”

“We have to say it out loud: Shame on them.”

No Conservative MPs were invited to take part in the event, leaving the crowd dotted with NDP, Liberal and Bloc Québécois politicians.

Liberal interim leader Bob Rae said he was hesitant to make an overly partisan speech at the memorial because it wasn’t your usual political event. There were families who had lost loved ones and would have to go home without them.

“At the end of this day, they will still be remembering a life that was cut down,” Rae said. “And that’s the sadness to remember at the heart of this event.”

Advocates of the registry say it saves lives and has cut down on gun violence since its inception.

“It is important to recognize that however inconvenient it may be to register a gun, it is nothing compared to the loss of a life,” Rae said.

If it does go, speakers at least hoped that the database with lists of guns and owners not be wiped.

But they were not willing to admit defeat just yet. Laplante-Edward said the fight will go to the Senate, which she hoped would review the legislation and change or reject it.

The prime minister released a statement on the anniversary of the massacre, saying the government was “making significant investments” to end violence against women, but more needed to be done.

“While the senseless events of that day will never fully be understood, we must continue to do our utmost to ensure such a tragedy never occurs again and to protect society’s most vulnerable,” the statement said.

“On this tragic anniversary, let us remember and commemorate the lives of all women who have been victims of intolerable acts of gender-based violence, and let us strive to eliminate these heinous and cowardly crimes.”

To honour women who have died as a result of violence, a ceremony will be held at Inuksuk High School on Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. in Iqaluit.

You will also be able to see art created locally for the Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.