Feds mark 33rd anniversary of Polytechnique shooting amid contention over gun control legislation
MPs are marking the 33rd anniversary of the École Polytechnique de Montreal shooting that left 14 women dead, while debate over the Liberal government’s gun control legislation — including which specific firearms should be restricted — is ongoing.
On this day in 1989, a gunman entered the engineering school and separated the women and men before opening fire on the female students, killing 14. More than three decades later, MPs are debating how to end gun violence in Canada, with the Liberals touting their Bill C-21 as the way to do it, while Opposition MPs are criticizing the proposed legislation.
Women and Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien started the day by addressing MPs in the House and marking the anniversary, saying the “horrific act of violence changed our country forever.” She also took the opportunity to list the government’s freeze on the sale, purchase, and transfer of handguns within Canada — a provision of bill C-21 that is already in effect — as another tool to fight against gender-based violence.
MPs from every party — including Bloc Québecois MP Andréanne Larouche, NDP MP Leah Gazan and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May — also made statements in the House on what is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other party leaders also issued statements to mark the day.
“For 33 years, we have held them in our thoughts,” Trudeau wrote. He later attended the yearly vigil in Montreal with Quebec Premier François Legault, where 14 beams of light were projected into the sky above Mount Royal.
“Geneviève Bergeron. Maryse Laganière. Hélène Colgan. Maryse Leclair. Nathalie Croteau. Anne-Marie Lemay. Barbara Daigneault. Sonia Pelletier. Anne-Marie Edward. Michèle Richard. Maud Haviernick. Annie St-Arneault. Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz. Annie Turcotte. We will never forget them,” Trudeau also wrote, naming the 14 women who were killed in the shooting 33 years ago.
Meanwhile the Liberal government’s highly contested Bill C-21 is currently at consideration with the House Public Safety and National Security Committee, where members discussed the act clause by clause Tuesday afternoon.
The legislation has been criticized by Opposition MPs and gun rights groups for unfairly punishing lawful gun owners and hunters, while not doing enough to address gang violence in major cities and gun smuggling at the border.
Some gun rights advocates have also expressed concern an amendment to the bill, tabled after second reading once C-21 had moved on to committee, would include guns used for hunting in the list of prohibited firearms.
While the Liberals have touted the bill as the critical to ending gun violence in Canada, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told Mike Le Couteur on CTV’s Power Play Monday his government is “keeping an open door” to work with committee to possibly pare down the list of prohibited guns.
With still a ways to go, Bloc Québecois MP Kristina Michaud said she’s disappointed “that industry doesn’t seem to have been consulted by the government” on the amendment, and at not being able to add more meetings to dig into the amendment and hear from more witnesses on the issue.
The committee later ran out of time before members could have all their questions answered, and decided to get back into the clause-by-clause discussion at its next meeting.
Polytechnique shooting survivor Nathalie Provost, who is also a spokesperson for the gun control advocacy group PolySeSouvient, told CTV’s Power Play she believes advocating for stricter gun control keeps the memory of the tragedy’s victims alive, and she’s concerned about how politicized the issue has become.
She said hunting is an activity that is “rooted in Canada,” and she’s not looking for hunting rifles to be outlawed, but rather to see an end to assault-style weapons. Provost said the Liberal government needs to be more clear in its list of firearms that would be prohibited under C-21.
As the debate continues to play out among Parliamentarians, outside of Ottawa, NHL goaltender Carey Price issued a statement on his Instagram acknowledging the anniversary of the École Polytechnique shooting and disputing an earlier claim he did not know about the tragedy in the first place.
Price had posted a photo of himself hunting with a caption calling out Trudeau for being unjust with the proposed gun control legislation, and stating he supports the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR). The CCFR is a gun rights organization that had also recently been criticized for using the promotion code “poly” on its website, a move many called disrespectful of the École Polytechnique tragedy.
A spokesperson for the NHL later initially said Price was unaware of the shooting, which led to further criticism of the hockey player, who lived in Montreal for more than 15 years.
“While I have no control over the timing of the amendment to Bill C-21 I stand by the opinions I’ve shared, I acknowledge that amplifying any conversation around guns this week may have upset some of those impacted most by the events here in 1989 and to them I apologize,” Price wrote.
The CCFR, for its part, wrote on its website the promo code was “in no way a reference to the tragedy at École Polytechnique.”
Ien addressed the story in her commemoration speech for the École Polytechnique victims.
“At a time when the gun lobby is using the memory of this horrendous anniversary to promote its own agenda, we must stand firm to defend the memories and legacies of those gone too soon,” she told MPs in the House Tuesday. “There is so much to be done and we must all be part of the solution.”
IN DEPTH
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.