21st Anniversary Of L’Ecole Polytechnique Massacre
Posted December 6, 2010 8:52 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was 21 years ago Monday that 14 women were shot to death at L’Ecole Polytechnique.
Ceremonies were held across the country to mark the sad anniversary, including an event at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto where roses were placed in vases for each of the victims murdered on Dec. 6, 1989. A 15th rose was laid to honour women and children who’ve died as a result of domestic violence over the past year.
And at L’Ecole Polytechnique a bouquest of 14 white roses will be placed before a memorial plaque and campus flags were lowered to half-staff.
“The pain has made way for the continuation of life … but the memory of the 13 Polytechnique Montréal students and one staff member who lost their lives on December 6, 1989, as well as the many people who were wounded physically and emotionally, lives on,” the school said on its website.
Flags at Parliament Hill were also lowered to half-staff.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the massacre “one of the most heinous acts of violence in Canadian history”. Working to eliminate violence against women is the best way to honour the victims, he added.
NDP Leader Jack Layton Aboriginal women must be a focus as they face “staggering” rates of violence, aggravated by poverty and discrimination.
With files from the Canadian Press.
