Four years ago, the province of Nova Scotia was the site of the largest mass casualty event in Canada’s history. This event was sparked by intimate partner violence, IPV, and ended in the killing of 22 innocent Nova Scotians—including an unborn child.
Families and communities were shattered by this event. The then-leader of the opposition, current premier Tim Houston, was a loud and vocal critic of the incident. He stood with the victim’s families to call for a public inquiry into the tragedy to hold public institutions and the government to account.
On March 30, 2023 the Mass Casualty Commission released 130 recommendations calling for transformative change inside government and public institutions. The MCC report also recommended that the government and society address the root causes of violence, with a specific focus on the epidemic of gender-based violence. The report called for consistent, long-term funding of GBV organizations and a commitment to the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. Every single one of the political leaders in this province committed to change.
If you were naive, you might have believed them.
We are now in the final days of a provincial election that no one wanted. If you look at the platforms of the three largest parties, you’ll note that gender-based violence prevention is barely mentioned. In fact, the Progressive Conservative platform has no mention of it at all. This shouldn’t be surprising from a party whose former minister of justice declared (on the fourth anniversary of the mass casualty) that gender-based violence is not an issue in Nova Scotia.
But it’s not just the PC party, it is also the NDP and Liberals who are not raising this issue on the campaign trail. Not even when three women were murdered by their partners in just under three weeks.
How many more women have to die in this province for politicians and the general public to take this seriously? The silence around the epidemic of gender-based and intimate partner violence in this province is deafening.
But advocates, activists and members of the gender-based violence community refuse to remain silent. We will not watch as women from marginalized and vulnerable populations are ignored by the very institutions that are expected to protect them. We will not allow politicians to use our stories as fodder for political points and then ignore us once they get some semblance of power. You ignore us at your own peril.
Elections come and go, and politicians eventually lose power and move on from public life. What remains is the trail of destruction and devastation they leave behind them. When governments refuse to address the root causes of violence, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Demand answers and demand commitments to the calls to action of the Mass Casualty Commission. It’s not too late.
Liz LeClair is a fundraiser and feminist who is committed to speaking up about the challenges facing women and marginalized individuals in the non-profit sector. She is a co-founder of Sargaso Philanthropic, and helped launch the National Day of Conversation to highlight the issue of sexualized violence in fundraising.
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This article appears in Nov 7-30, 2024.
Three women in NS have been killed by their partners in the last six or so weeks. No party mentions that. Yet even the cops said that publicly. So what candidates have we got? The safe, the wants to dole money out in dribs and drabs to make you think life’s affordabel, the ones that don’t have their sights on ONE abandoned building, an old church, a school that the PROVINCE could turn over to some non profit to renovate and make into affordable housing. THere is not ONE specific except for putting a few bucks in your pocket. Shame.