Montreal massacre remembered on national day of remembrance for women

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      There's an eerie display at the annual event at the Vancouver Public Library central branch commemorating the 1989 Montreal massacre.

      Life-size cutouts of victims of violence are placed all over the basement level, each citing details of a woman who called a rape-crisis centre.

      It's part of the National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women taking place all day.

      The free event includes films, art exhibits, lectures, and roundtable discussions. There's also free child care available.

      On December 6, 1989, gunman Marc Lépine entered L’École Polytechnique de Montréal and separated male and female engineering students.

      After the men were ordered out of the classroom, he shot nine women, killing six of them. From there, he went on a rampage through the school killing eight more and leaving 10 other women and four men injured.

      The 14 women who were killed simply because they were women were: 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, and Annie Turcotte.

      Lépine killed himself, leaving a note with the names of 19 other feminists that he planned to murder.

       

      Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.

      Comments

      5 Comments

      FedUpWithTraitors

      Dec 1, 2012 at 7:21pm

      A mentally diseased individual that should never have had access to firearms, flash forward to today as military grade inexpensive firearms and insanely huge magazine capacitys flood the shelves of gun stores nationwide... If one were a crazy conspiracy theorist its almost like the powers that be are encouraging insurrection and civil war.... Dont fall for it, its not too late to keep our hard won democracy and bring the traitors in our government to legal justice within our current framework... all it requires is our eyes being opened to there open deception, rightists and leftists need to join together in a nationilistic movment!!!!!

      jackai

      Dec 2, 2012 at 1:46am

      How about just taking a Moment to Remember our fellow sisters who were victims.

      Ping Mao

      Dec 2, 2012 at 12:23pm

      Why do you persist in promoting the name of the killer and neglecting the names of the victims. Typical patriarchal journalism.

      Marjory Fenworthy

      Dec 4, 2012 at 3:20pm

      Way to go Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter! An awesome event that moved me to action.

      PJB

      Dec 6, 2012 at 2:00pm

      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
      Ma
      ryse 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