National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

by: Keri Okanik, Catholic Family Services

On December 6, 1989, a lone gunman killed 14 female students and injured 10 others at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique.

The gunman, 25 year old Marc Lepine, moved through the corridors, classrooms, and cafeteria, looking for women, specifically, to shoot. His motive – he did not think that women should be educated to occupy positions typically held by men. During the shooting, he made threats against feminists and highlighted feminism as his motivation for the attack.

The Montreal Massacre has become a symbol of violence against women in Canada.  “The death of those young women would not be in vain, we promised”, Canadian feminist Judy Rebick recalled. “We would turn our mourning into organizing to put an end to male violence against women.”[1]

Since the events of December 6, 1989, the anniversary has been marked with a National Day of Remembrance and Action for Violence Against Women.

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We remember the women who lost their lives in the tragic events at Ecole Polutechnique:

• Geneviève Bergeron (born 1968), civil engineering student
• Hélène Colgan (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
• Nathalie Croteau (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
• Barbara Daigneault (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
• Anne-Marie Edward (born 1968), chemical engineering student
• Maud Haviernick (born 1960), materials engineering student
• Maryse Laganière (born 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique’s finance department
• Maryse Leclair (born 1966), materials engineering student
• Anne-Marie Lemay (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
• Sonia Pelletier (born 1961), mechanical engineering student
• Michèle Richard (born 1968), materials engineering student
• Annie St-Arneault (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
• Annie Turcotte (born 1969), materials engineering student
• Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (born 1958), nursing student

There will be an event held on Friday December 5 to honour those who lost their lives, and to highlight the important role women play in each of our lives.

Date: Friday December 5, 2014

Time: 11:30am – 12:00pm

Location: Food Court, Gateway Mall

We will be engaging community in a Silent March as well as musical presentations from Carlton students and testimonials from female survivors of violence.

We hope to see you all there!

[1] Rebick, Judy (December 6, 2000). “Where’s the funding for abused women?. CBC. Archived from the original on March 21, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.