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Speaking Notes for The Honourable Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P. Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women on the occasion of a call for proposals on Engaging Young People to Prevent Violence against Women on University and College Campuses

Edmonton, Alberta
Friday, November 25, 2011

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Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to join you today to make an important announcement, one that we believe will significantly improve the well-being of women on university and college campuses across the country.

Today we commemorate the Mirabal sisters – Patria, Maria and Antonia – whose brutal murders in the Dominican Republic in 1960 focused the world’s attention on the subject of violence against women. 
The anniversary of these heinous murders, November 25th, has been designated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

[Today also marks the beginning of the worldwide 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which encompass Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, on December 6, and conclude with Human Rights Day, on December 10. ]

For Canadians – and particularly university and college communities – December 6 is a painful anniversary.  It was on that day in 1989 that 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal – mostly engineering students – lost their lives in an act of gender-based violence that shocked the nation and made headlines around the world.

The events of December 6, 1989, are seared into my own memory.  I was a student at the time, all the way across the country at the University of Victoria, yet I recall the sense of horror that gripped our campus as the tragedy unfolded in Montréal.  Our hearts were with our fellow students at l'École Polytechnique.  Their grief was, and is, our grief.

December 6 is now the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. 

The annual commemoration provides an opportunity for all of us – individuals, organizations, communities and institutions – to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women, to remember not only the victims of the Montréal Massacre but all victims, and to consider concrete actions to eliminate all violence from our lives.

Colleges and universities are in the business of expanding and inspiring young minds.  Yet emotional violence, often a precursor to physical or sexual violence, is known to be widespread in student dating relationships. And recent data suggests that as many as one in six female college or university students is a survivor of rape, an experience that destroys human potential and shatters dreams.

Clearly, with women under the age of 25 still experiencing the highest rates of sexual assault and criminal harassment among Canadians, university and college campus communities face unique challenges in their efforts to make their campuses the safe and supportive places they should be.

Thus, it gives me great satisfaction to make today’s announcement on the campus of one of Canada’s most prestigious universities.  University of Alberta is known internationally for its excellence in scientific and scholarly research as well as for its openness to innovation.  The U of A community – undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff in a multitude of fields and areas of responsibility – is as diverse as the Canadian population.  Yet we have gathered here today around a common goal: ending gender-based violence on our country’s university and college campuses.

From today until January 27, 2012, the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, will accept proposals for projects focused on taking action to prevent violence against women on university and college campuses.

Today’s announcement goes to the heart of the issue, mobilizing young people and members of university and college communities – open-minded women and men – to work together to end gender-based violence. 

We cannot achieve our goal without the active participation of not only women and girls, but men and boys as well.

Since 2006, our Government has been committed to addressing the problem of violence against women and girls. 

As Minister for Status of Women, I will work tirelessly to support projects across Canada that yield real results for women and girls, strengthening their families, their communities and our country.

Our government‘s funding to the Women’s Program has nearly doubled since 2006, its highest level ever. 

This has allowed Status of Women Canada to invest in grassroots projects seeking to end violence against women and girls.

The Government of Canada has taken significant action to prevent and better protect Canadians from crime, including physical and sexual violence against women, and to strengthen the capacity of the criminal justice system.

Examples include raising the age of consent from 14 to 16; funding a national strategy to address missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls; passing the Tackling Violent Crime Act; making significant investments in policing, crime prevention, federal corrections and victims’ services; ending conditional sentencing, including house arrest, for serious offences, such as violent and sexual crimes; and launching the National Victims of Crime Awareness Week.

In June, our government introduced the Safe Streets and Communities Act, which will ensure that any offence committed using date rape drugs will receive the mandatory minimum sentence.

[The Government of Canada is continuing to work to improve the lives of women and girls in Canada –of all backgrounds, income levels and communities.  I am proud of our government’s efforts on behalf of women and girls.]

Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I call on men and women, boys and girls, students and non-students – to join forces to help end gender-based violence both here in Canada and beyond. 

Over the next 16 days, let us build momentum for lasting change, for a society in which women and men are equal and committed to ending violence against women and girls.

Thank you.

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Date Modified:
2011-11-10