Gender-based Violence

In the Legislative Assembly on December 10th, 2019. See this topic in context.

Gender-based Violence
Members' Statements

Page 16

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Friday, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, my mother laid a rose for one of the 14 women engineers murdered on December 6, 1989 in an act of gender-based violence.

As a young woman, my mother wanted to become an architect. She was scolded for wanting to take a man's place in school. When she applied, she was told first she would need to prove she could keep up with the men by completing a Pure Math Degree, a prerequisite not required by her male colleagues. She graduated in Montreal with honours and then from UBC with an architecture degree, again with honours.

When my mother arrived North in the 80s, she was the only female registered architect and spent her career travelling to northern communities as a public servant. Her proudest career moments weren't sitting in front of a drafting table or coordinating a new build. It was sitting in small rooms speaking with people about what a future rec centre, health centre, or school meant to their community. My mother wanted to empower people to take ownership of their community, to take a lead role in having their voices heard. Her career goal was to quietly build people up and pass along the self-determination she had won through her education.

My mother's education was her freedom. It empowered her to make her own way, be creative, and build up community. December 6, 30 years ago changed the lives and awareness of so many women across Canada. For the first time, my mother's education was no longer her freedom. On that day, it made her a target, but it didn't deter her. It strengthened her grip on her education and made her work harder to give others a voice.

Before last week's anniversary, I was asked how we could make what happened 30 years ago relevant today. When women in this room have been told that they have too little or too much family to sit in these seats, we still have work to do. When four out of five female undergraduate students at Canadian universities report date violence, we still have work to do.

When the NWT has the second highest national rate of violence against women, we still have work to do. When our nation needs to pull together a coast-to-coast inquiry for the agonizing legacy of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls and then still have to demand that its calls for justice be implemented, we still have a lot of work to do.

Ending gender-based violence will take every single one of us: every politician, every public servant, every parent of every child. Changing our story will take every single one of us, now. That is why December 6, 1989 is still relevant today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Gender-based Violence
Members' Statements

December 10th, 2019

Page 17

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Gender-based Violence
Members' Statements

Page 19

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Along with my colleagues, I would like to recognize that today is World Human Rights Day, which marks the conclusion of The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. After publishing the priorities of this 19^th Assembly, it was pointed out by a number of my constituents that any mention of working to address violence against women was missing from the list. This is an omission that I believe this Assembly must rectify. It must be made clear that taking action to end domestic violence and gender-based violence is a priority of this Assembly.

In the throne speech last week, the federal government committed to reconciliation and responding to the calls for justice of the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We are living in an Indigenous territory, and we work within a gender-balanced Assembly. We can and should be leading the way on ending gender-based violence. This is a difficult topic to speak about. It is a topic of actual tragedy, and, with some of the worst domestic violence rates in the country, this tragedy is taking place right now.

This is a difficult topic for me to speak about. I find the voice of men is all too often silent on fighting gender-based violence, despite men overwhelmingly being the perpetrators. This silence places an unfair burden on the victims to also be advocates for change. This silence is reinforced by a culture in which too many men and boys are discouraged from speaking with vulnerability, from admitting weakness or sadness or pain. This is a part of the narrative that needs to change. I believe we in this House must not shy away from speaking about the things that are hard to speak about, about the roots of tragedies that are still taking place and about the faults in our systems, in ourselves, and about the desperate need for change, change in a society that disproportionately harms our most vulnerable.

Much of the policy work to enact this change has already been done for us. The Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls calls for justice are addressed specifically to governments. In this report, one of the roadblocks identified was a lack of political will. I am here to say the political will exists in the Northwest Territories. This 19^th Assembly is now writing its mandate. Now is the time to commit to implementing the calls for justice in collaboration with all levels of government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Gender-based Violence
Members' Statements

Page 19

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Gender-based Violence

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