On December 6, 1989, 14 women – 12 engineering students, a nursing student and a financial clerk at École Polytechnique in Montreal – were murdered by a man who was motivated by his hatred of women and feminism.
In 1991, the Government of Canada proclaimed December 6 to be the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The day falls in the middle of the worldwide 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, which runs from November 25 (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), to December 10 (International Human Rights Day).
Members of the MSVU community gathered today (December 6, 2023) to mark the anniversary of the massacre at École Polytechnique and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The event, hosted by MSVU Vice-President Academic & Provost Dr. Lori Francis, was an opportunity for thoughtful reflection. The combination of remarks, poems and musical pieces presented reminded that the crisis of violence against women persists in Canada and around the world.
Among the pieces presented were a personal reflection by Dr. Francis on her experiences as a women in science, a poem called “Missing” by Indigenous poet Ben Richard presented by Dr. Keltie Jones (AVP, Student Experience), a poem by Christy Ann Martine titled “Flower in the Desert” presented by Dr. Marnina Gonick (Professor of Education, Women’s Studies), and a musical presentation by Dr. James Sawler (Professor of Politics, Economics & Canadian Studies)
As the names of the women who were killed at École Polytechnique were read by Vice-President Administration Isabelle Nault, an MSVU student placed a white rose in their memory. We remember:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
