Moose Jaw Transition House marks ‘National Day of Remembrance’

Thursday, December 6th marked National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada.

The day is also the anniversary of the murders that took place in 1989 of 14 young women at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal who were slaughtered because they were women. The Moose Jaw Transition House hosted a luncheon at the Minto United Church, ‘A Day of Remembrance’ to remember the victims of this massacre and to highlight actions to eliminate violence against women. Executive Director at the Moose Jaw Transition House, Lori Lancaster observed a minute of silence for the victims after saying their names aloud to remember them. “This event was important to remember those 14 women who lost their lives simply because they were women and to bring awareness to violence against women,” Lancaster noted. “People do sometimes think we’ve gotten further than we have in ending violence against women and girls, however, in Saskatchewan, we still have the highest provincial rates of police reported domestic violence in Canada. This is an unfortunate statistic that we really need to change.”

Lancaster added that it is also important to recognize that domestic violence is not only physical but can manifest in a variety of ways. “I think attitudes to domestic violence in gen- eral have started to change but we still have a long way to go. It is really important for people to understand that domestic violence is about power and control and isn’t just physical violence. It is a wide spectrum which also includes controlling behaviors, verbal, emotional and even reproductive control.” Motivational speaker, Lani Elliott was the guest speaker at this year’s luncheon. Elliott recounted being in a marriage laced with domestic violence which almost took her life. She spoke about surviving the tragedy and reinforced the impact domestic violence can have on those involved. “I want to say to anyone who is a victim of any kind of abuse; emotional, verbal, physical and otherwise that you deserve better. There is a life out there that is better than that, that you can be free from violence,” she emphasized. “There are people and organizations out there that care and will help you. There is a better life. There is never an excuse to harm others. I want women to know that they are valued and worthy and no one deserves to live in violence.” MLA for Moose Jaw North, Warren Michelson, Chief of Police Rick Bourassa and City Councillor Heather Eby were also in attendance and brought remarks. MLA Michelson, while admitting that Saskatchewan’s rate of reported cases of domestic violence is the highest in the country, says the government has undertaken a number of policies aimed at reducing incidents of domestic violence. “Saskatchewan has the highest rate of domestic violence in the country and it’s nothing to be proud of. We take this issue very seriously and we’ve undertaken a number of policy responses. We’ve changed the residential penalty act so that a victim can break his or her lease in order to flee a domestic violence situation; we’ve also made changes to the employment act so that an individual can take up to 10 unpaid days off of work in order to focus and deal with domestic violent situations; and Saskatchewan is the first province in Canada to introduce Clare’s Law which allows the police to disclose the violent history of someone to a potential partner.”