December 6, again

Every year, for 35 years now, we remember their names. Women who were killed by a violent misogynist just because they were women. He separated the women from the men and killed them. He blamed women for everything, including his celibacy. I remember the massacre. I watched on television as the extent of the initial horror became real. The police spokesperson who found – because of the sweater she was wearing – that his daughter was among the victims. The freezing cold that was no match for the ice in our veins. The unspeakable horror.

• Geneviève Bergeron, 21, civil engineering student
• Hélène Colgan, 23, mechanical engineering student
• Nathalie Croteau, 32, mechanical engineering student
• Barbara Daigneault, 22, mechanical engineering student
• Anne-Marie Edward, 21, chemical engineering student
• Maud Haviernick, 29, materials engineering student
• Maryse Laganière, 25, budget clerk in the École Polytechnique’s finance department
• Maryse Leclair, 23, materials engineering student
• Anne-Marie Lemay, 22, mechanical engineering student
• Sonia Pelletier, 28, mechanical engineering student
• Michèle Richard, 21, materials engineering student
• Annie St-Arneault, 23, mechanical engineering student
• Annie Turcotte, 20, materials engineering student
• Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, 31, nursing student

Every year women continue to be hurt and killed by misogynists. By the men who’d sworn to love them. By those who had promised to keep them safe. It’s not strangers women have to fear. It’s the men close to them. Particularly those they tried to love. The most dangerous ones are the men who can’t deal with the shock of a woman wanting to leave them.

Yet, apparently, nothing can be done. Even worse than nothing. The Ontario government scuttled a legislative committee studying the issue because we might be in an election soon. If this move by the Doug Ford bunch surprises you, kindly raise your hand so I can unfriend you.

The federal Liberals have just added a number of firearm models to the list of restricted weapons – timed to coincide with the 35th Polytechnique anniversary – convinced they seem to be that it will save lives.

That’s... highly debatable at best. Most femicides in this country aren’t committed with “assault-style” firearms — about as useless a category as can exist. Anything and everything can be used for assault. It you want to ban automatic and/or semi-automatic weapons, then say that. A gun that looks menacing isn’t more dangerous than one that doesn’t.

Anyway.

I have a question.

If the situation was reversed, and it was women killing their male intimate partners at the same rate, do you really think nothing could be done about it?

Me, neither.

There are solutions. Here’s one legislator working tirelessly to bring some of those about (in French). It’s already been 35 years. That’s more than long enough.