[Isadora]

Twenty one years ago today, Marc Lepine, entered the doors of the l'École Polytechnique, the engineering department at the University of Montreal. He did not come out alive. Neither did 14 of his unsuspecting and innocent victims. They were all women. That’s why Lepine killed them. He systematically and methodically sought out women as his targets. They were assassinated in cold blood at Lepine’s hands. He used a small caliber hunting rifle.

"Each and every person in our society has the right to live in safety," said June Draude, Saskatchewan's Social Services Minister and Minister Responsible for the Status of Women. "Our government values the programs and services delivered by community-based organizations that offer support to those experiencing interpersonal violence. Violence is unacceptable and I urge everyone to work together in calling for its end."

In Canada, 40,200 incidents of spousal violence (i.e., violence against legally married, common-law, separated and divorced partners) were reported to pol...ice in 2007. This represents about 12 per cent of all police-reported violent crime in Canada. The majority of victims of spousal violence continue to be females, accounting for 83 per cent of victims.