On Dec. 6th, flags at all federal buildings across Canada were flown at half-mast, commemorating the murders of fourteen women in 1989 at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. Established by Parliament in 1991, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is a day for all Canadians to wear a white or purple ribbon, and to make a commitment to end violence against women.
Marc Lepine claimed to be fighting feminism that evening when he killed Geneviève Bergeron 21; Hélène Colgan, 23; Nathalie Croteau, 23; Barbara Daigneault, 22; Anne-Marie Edward, 21; Maud Haviernick, 29; Barbara Klucznik, 31; Maryse Laganière, 25; Maryse Leclair, 23; Anne-Marie Lemay, 22; Sonia Pelletier, 23; Michèle Richard, 21; Anne St-Arneault, 23; and Annie Turcotte, 21; and wounded ten other women.
Dec. 6th has become a day for Canadians to stand for change against the violence that occurs to women around the world at the hands of men, and awareness of the power dynamic that exists between men and women.
-Submitted by Domestic & Relationship Violence Initiative Committee (DRVIC)
