Leïla Ben Salem, 45, killed in Montreal apartment while on work video call

Leïla Ben Salem, 45, a member of the Union of Taxation Employees' Montreal Local 10008, was killed in her apartment on René-Lévesque Boulevard near Saint-Christophe Street on September 23. She was found unconscious with serious injuries after a colleague requested a wellness check around 3:25 p.m. while she was on a video call. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Union of Taxation Employees released a statement saying members were "shocked and heartbroken" and condemned "the violence that took her life." The union committed to supporting Ben Salem's colleagues and assisting her family.

Advocacy organization SOS violence conjugale acknowledged on Instagram that authorities have not yet determined whether the killing is connected to intimate or post-separation relationship violence, but connected the death to Montreal's recent march against violence toward women. The organization called on people to check in on women experiencing violence and urged political parties to outline concrete measures to address violence against women.

Océane Corbin, a UQAM researcher on online misogyny, told the source that making women feel safe is "now the most important thing," and emphasized the need to prevent men from causing more harm. "It is so much violence that most of it can be prevented, and I think this is where the anger also comes from, and the tiredness of it all," Corbin said. She noted that 18 women have died this year in Quebec and called on politicians to take concrete steps to decrease femicide cases as the Quebec election approaches.

No suspect has been arrested. The Sûreté du Québec is investigating.