December 6th marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on
Violence Against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the
Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the
murders in 1989 of 14 young female engineering students at
l'École Polytechnique de Montréal for the simple reason that
they were women. This event, known as the Montreal Massacre, has
become a galvanizing moment for all Canadians to reflect on all
forms of gender-based violence in our society and to take action
for its elimination. Violence and harassment against women in
the workplace continues to be a serious labour issue in Canada.
On November 12, 2005, nurse Lori Dupont was murdered by a co-
worker during a shift at Windsor’s Hotel-Dieu Hospital after
suffering months of on-the-job harassment and reluctance by
hospital management and staff to confront her abuser. Violence
in the workplace, regardless of the gender of the victim or
abuser, can take many forms and can include harassment from
patients, customers and clients;