University of Toronto commemorates 34th anniversary of École Polytechnique massacre with keynote speech by trans-identified male

On Wednesday, Canadians commemorated the 34th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre with solemn ceremonies that sought to bring attention to violence against women and girls.

While most institutes of higher learning memorialized the tragic event with passionate speeches by female students and staff, the University of Toronto's keynote address was delivered by Kai Cheng Thom, a trans-identifying biological male and former prostitute, who spoke little of the murders, focusing instead on "transmisogyny."

According to Reduxx, the event was hosted by UofT's Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Center on the main campus downtown, and opened with speeches from two students, one of whom identified as a "racialized queer non-binary femme," about how gender-based violence was a colonial phenomenon. The pair suggested that the practice was nonexistent in Indigenous cultures.

UofT Vice-Provost Sandy Welsh and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also addressed the crowd, before opening up the stage for Thom.

During his speech, Thom read poetry and ranted about the "rise in transmisogyny and violence against queer and trans women globally."
 

"I am affected to my core by transphobia and misogyny; they keep me up at night, haunting me with questions for which I do not have answers," Thom said, citing issues such as sex-segregated bathrooms and the mutilation of children who believe they are the opposite gender.

Thom repeatedly referred to violence committed against transgender women, however as Reduxx points out, there has not been a single case of a male who identifies as a female being murdered in Canada since 2008, when recordings of such things began.

During the event, a link was sent out, allowing the audience and community to submit questions for Thom, though it was soon closed due to the fact that the majority of submissions were critical of his presence.

"Why did you invite a male to give a keynote address during an event intended to commemorate femicide?" one person asked.

The self-proclaimed "anti-feminist" gunman responsible for the École Polytechnique massacre of December 6, 1989 murdered 14 engineering students at the Montreal school simply because they were women.

Since 1991, it has been memorialized via the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada.