Good morning. I’m Kristy Kirkup, a health reporter for The Globe. Today is the anniversary of the Montreal massacre at the École Polytechnique. I’ll take a look at the state of affairs of violence against women 35 years later. More on that below, plus an explainer on naloxone and the end of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Liberals ban more assault-style firearms on the eve of the Polytechnique massacre anniversary
- EDC contracts with Accenture are set to jump to more than $1-billion, according to newly obtained records
- South Korean police have opened a treason case against President Yoon, and his own party leader is calling for his removal
White roses are shown next to photographs of the 14 women killed in the 1989 Polytechnique massacre during a vigil.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Violence against women
The push to include femicide in the Criminal Code
I’ve worked as a journalist in Canada’s capital for the past 15 years, keeping a close eye on local developments here, as well as national ones.
In August, I received a news release from the police that caught my attention. It was about the killing of Jennifer Edmonds, a public servant and mother of two. The 47-year-old was found dead in a home located in west Ottawa. Her best friend, Melissa Cumpson, said she was trying to leave her husband, who is now charged with second-degree murder in her death. In their news release, police used the term “femicide” in relation to her death.
To use the term femicide was an unusual step for police. In fact, it was the first time the service used this term. The decision to do so in Edmonds’s case was the result of discussions with advocates who specialize in violence against women, who called the move long overdue.
In October, there was another tragedy that Ottawa Police deemed to be a femicide. Police allege that a mother of four, who was at the park with two of her children, was targeted and killed because of a familial connection. During a news conference, the heroic acts of bystanders were mentioned because they came both to the aid of 36-year-old Brkti Berhe, as well as her children, while this incident unfolded in broad daylight at the park.
I’ve written about this issue a lot over the years in relation to murdered Indigenous women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by violence. The interviews with family members who have lost loved ones will always stick with me. The amount of grief they carry every day is unimaginable.
When The Globe’s editors were considering coverage for the 35th anniversary of the Montreal massacre, when a gunman killed 14 women on Dec. 6, 1989, I couldn’t help but think of the Ottawa cases and the extent of violence perpetuated against women and girls across the country today.
Jana G. Pruden, who has covered this issue extensively as a crime and court reporter, has also been reflecting on the events of that day. She wrote about the lack of progress that has been made on this issue. She also connects the history at the École Polytechnique to misogynist sentiments that flooded social media after the U.S. election.
“It would be easy to dismiss this as trolling, but the harm is real. We know how online hatred translates to real-life violence. We know women are already dying because of changes to abortion access and reproductive health care in the United States. We know women everywhere continue to face violence within their homes and lives,” she wrote.
At a policy level, there are calls for change. In 2022, an Ontario coroner’s inquest on the 2015 killings of three women in the Renfrew County area recommended the word femicide be used, including in the Criminal Code of Canada in the context of relevant crimes.
As well, several advocates recently testified before a parliamentary committee, which is studying femicide and gender-based violence, about the need to amend the law. The change is also supported by the Canadian Femicide Observatory based at the University of Guelph. Since 2018, it has had a campaign called #callitfemicide.
Advocates note other countries have included femicide in their laws but Canada has yet to take this step.
Read my full story here.
For today, I’ll leave you with a last thought from Pruden.
“It feels fragile right now. Like we could quickly lose the gains our mothers and aunts and grandmothers and great-grandmothers fought so hard for,” she writes. “This is not just a woman’s issue. This is not just a feminist cause. We can’t allow ourselves to be separated.”
The Shot
‘I am not here by my own will’
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin in conversation with Mark McKinnon in Berlin Kreuzberg on Nov 29, 2024.Jacobia Dahm/The Globe and Mail
The Globe’s Mark MacKinnon was delighted to see Ilya Yashin again. They spent two years exchanging occasional letters while Yashin was in Vladimir Putin’s prisons, for a video he posted on YouTube criticizing the government. After being included in a mass prisoner swap, one would expect Yashin to feel relief. But he describes his release as a “deportation” rather than a liberation. MacKinnon and Yashin caught up in Berlin.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: The Assembly of First Nations agreed to move ahead with a new negotiation process for a multibillion-dollar deal to reform First Nations child welfare this week, but without the support of Ontario chiefs.
Abroad: Mali has issued an arrest warrant for the CEO of Barrick Gold Corp. The warrant, posted on social media, shows Mark Bristow is charged with money laundering and violating the country’s financial regulations.
Explained: Over the past eight years, about 50,000 Canadians have died of overdoses. Naloxone is a highly effective antidote to the toxic drug crisis. Here’s how it works.
Entertained: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, a game-changing cultural juggernaut and testament to female empowerment, ends this weekend in Vancouver.