You could hear the voices coming from two blocks away as dozens of demonstrators made their way down Barrington Street on Wednesday, Feb 19, descending on Grand Parade. Shouts of “End the silence, end the violence,” “No excuse for abuse” and “Education is prevention; systemic failures must be mentioned!” reverberated through Halifax’s downtown on the chilly—and for once, sunny—winter afternoon.
The Together We Rise marchers gathered on the steps of Grand Parade where silhouettes of women lost to gender-based violence stood proudly—an eerie but impactful reminder of why we are here. Roses lined the snowy steps. Empty red dresses blew in the cold wind.
Notably absent was premier Tim Houston, who, while invited well in advance, elected to schedule bill briefings at the exact same time as this rally. Convenient. His absence was deeply felt and repeatedly mentioned.
The Coast reached out to premier Houston’s office to find out why he was not in attendance, but got no answer by the time of publication.
Notably present were the same group of women who gather time after time to demand systemic change, honour victims, remember survivors and implore government to do more. These women form the engine of a movement that is getting stronger—and louder—as an unprecedented string of femicides has shocked Nova Scotia.
And while the sheer volume of the recent murders is stunning, gender-based violence is not new to Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, a lack of progress in addressing it is not novel either.
In December 2007, Lynn Gallant-Blackburn’s sister, Paula, was murdered by her husband—a man she both loved and trusted—in her own home.
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“I vow to not only find justice for her but to ensure her death served a meaningful purpose,” Gallant-Blackburn told rally-goers from the steps of Grand Parade. “For the past nineteen years, I have shared Paula’s story and our journey through this horrific, senseless, and selfish act of intimate partner violence in the hopes that people would come to understand that Paula could be any woman living amongst us.”
Like the silhouettes standing beside Gallant-Blackburn as she spoke, Paula represents all women murdered by their partners and the women that are still at risk, underscoring the reality that violence against women—almost always at the hands of men—knows no boundaries and doesn’t discriminate.
“It can happen to someone you know, and we need to stand up and not settle for anything less than action,” said Gallant-Blackburn. “With the recent rise in gender-based violence, my advocacy journey has been amplified and I will not allow my voice—or the voices of the women silenced by murder—to fall on deaf ears.”
Gallant-Blackburn explains that while Nova Scotia’s recent declaring of intimate-partner violence as an epidemic is a first step, the descriptor alone does not stop the violence. That requires action. It also requires that people in positions of power—people like Tim Houston—decide to be the heroes that women need.
Let’s not forget that Houston’s government only agreed to pass Nova Scotia’s legislation under duress—a fact that Nova Scotia NDP leader Claudia Chender is quick to remind people of.
“When we brought legislation declaring intimate-partner violence an epidemic, we were told, ‘It’s only symbolic,’ and it was only because a group of advocates and survivors shamed this government into passing that bill that we did,” Chender told marchers on Wednesday. “When we brought legislation to ban non-disclosure agreements, the Houston government said, ‘We don’t really need that; it’s not what they’re doing in other provinces.’”
Chender added that her opposition party will be also be re-tabling Bill-144—a bill that would eliminate the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of sexual harassment and discrimination—in Province House on Wednesday afternoon.
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“Today, however, we are going to bring legislation to actually address gender-based violence with epidemic-level funding for front-line workers and, importantly, the inclusion of those front-line workers and survivors at the table once it is determined how to go forward,” said Chender.
One of those survivors is Wyndolyn Brown. She is also the founder of Empowerment for Hope, a non-profit organization that strives to help families by breaking cycles of violence, abuse and trauma, giving children and families the resources they need for a better future through awareness and—like the nonprofit’s name itself—empowerment.
“We march today because silence is no longer an option,” said Brown. “Gender-based violence is no longer just going on behind closed doors; it is a crisis that is sweeping through families and communities, and we are here to say, ‘No more.’”
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Brown eloquently states that the reasons for Wednesday’s march are numerous: for the women who are suffering in silence, for the children who are witnessing violence in their home, for the men who are carrying unhealed trauma, and for every family that has been torn apart by domestic violence.
“We must recognize domestic violence does not discriminate; it affects people from all backgrounds, races and economic standing,” Brown told those gathered. “But in the African Nova Scotian community, we face unique barriers—systemic racism, generational trauma and a lack of support services. These challenges make it even harder for our women, men and children to break free from the cycle of domestic violence.”
To round out the speakers, Liz LeClair—a survivor of gender-based violence and volunteer with Can’t Buy My Silence, a campaign to end the use of NDAs to silence victims and whistleblowers—took her time to remind onlookers who is missing from the conversation.
“We have multiple times asked this premier to be in solidarity with us, and where is he right now? He planned briefings on bills—that he did not have to do today—so he’s somewhere over by the legislature ignoring what we’re talking about today,” said LeClair. “My experience with this government has been constant shut-down, silencing, not answering phone calls and not answering emails. But I can tell you that I’m not going to get quieter.”
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Before the march to Province House, those gathered heard a song called “I’ll Stand in the Rain” by Leslie Monaghan of the New Brunswick Silent Witness Project. The lyrics feel like the most poignant and perfect way to encapsulate what’s going on in the hearts and minds of all those in attendance.
I have no voice. I feel no pain.
I’ll stand beside you each step of the way.
I’ll see you through. There’s work left to do
So no more lives will be lost in vain
I’ll stand in the rain.
I’ll take my place, though you can’t see my face.
You can’t see my eyes, all the tears that they’ve cried.
You can’t feel my heart, but I’ll do my part
To help bring awareness from out of the dark.
I’ll do my part.
Chorus:
I’ll stand in the rain. I’ll stand in the snow.
I’ll carry my message wherever I go.
To bring peace and healing…to help the world change
I’ll stand in the rain.
I’ll stand in the rain. I’ll weather each storm
In hope that compassion will one day be the norm
My voice may be gone, but my spirit is strong
I’ll stand in the rain.
Don’t turn away. Don’t close your eyes.
My friends, it’s time to realize
There’s lots to do. Reach out your hand,
We’ll heal the pain across this land
Together we’ll stand.
This article appears in Feb 1-28, 2025.
Houston has a majority now not because Nova Scotians chose to put him there but because over half the electorate threw up their hands and didn’t vote at all. And now we see his true colours, that he is in power for himself and his wealthy supporters but he will never do anything for the vast majority of his constituency.
What this makes clear, what we desperately need now is a genuine democratic voting system and mandatory voting.