December 6, 2025
On this day 36 years ago, a male gunman entered Polytechnique Montréal and murdered 14 women, targeting them because they were women.
It remains one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history and a stark reminder of how deeply rooted misogyny and gender-based violence are in Canadian society.
Today, as we remember all the lives lost to gender-based violence, we must also confront the reality that this violence continues. Across Canada, rates of femicide and intimate partner violence are rising, and the growing wave of misogynist, transphobic, and homophobic hate, both online and in our communities, threatens the safety and dignity of women, girls, and gender-diverse people every day.
On average, one woman or girl is killed every two days in Canada. First Nation, Métis, and Inuit women, girls, and Two-Spirit people are killed at a rate more than six times higher than non-Indigenous women. This ongoing national tragedy is the result of systemic racism, colonialism, and decades of government inaction in response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Gender-based violence affects every part of our society, including our schools, workplaces, campuses, and communities. As a public education union, OSSTF/FEESO is committed to creating environments that are safe, inclusive, and free from all forms of violence and hate.
Through our Women’s Advocate Program, established through the 2018-2019 Strategic Action Plan, OSSTF/FEESO has trained and supported Women’s Advocates in nearly every district across Ontario. These advocates provide critical resources, support, and guidance to members facing gender-based violence and harassment.
Provincially, OSSTF/FEESO continues to call on the provincial government to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in Ontario and to fund the community services and supports needed to protect those at risk.
Nationally, we urge the federal government to fully implement the International Labour Organization’s Convention 190, which provides a clear framework for ending violence and harassment in the world of work. Ratification is not enough; workers need an action plan now.
Today, we come together not only in remembrance, but also in solidarity and action. We reaffirm our commitment to ending gender-based violence in all its forms and to building a society rooted in equity, justice, and safety for all women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
Never again.
Visit the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence webpage to learn more about how you can take action.