On December 6th, from 11:40a.m.-1:00p.m. there will be a Vigil held in remembrance of the Ecole Polytechnique attack on women in Montreal.
On December 6th, 1989 a gunman chanting “I hate feminists” killed 14 young women at the Ecole Polytechnique. In 1991 Parliament called this day The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. December 6th not only marks this horrible event in Canadian history, but it also reminds us that violence against women still occurs and needs to stop. (Information from the UFCW Canada website).
Brandon University, The Women’s Collective, The Indigenous People’s Centre, Brandon University Aboriginal Student’s Collective, and The Women’s Resource Centre have joined together to plan the 2018 vigil being held at Brandon University.
The event will be held in the Mingling Area and have speakers and a musical performance. Elder Barb Blind will give a traditional prayer and blessing, with a performance following by the Sweet Medicine Singers. There will be addresses from Dr. Harms, Dr. Baker, Jenna English, Dr. Mihelakis, The Btandon University Aboriginal Collective and closing remarks from Bobi Stupack who will also give the words of welcome at the beginning.
The women who were murdered were: Anne Marie Lemay (27), Anne-Marie Edward (21), Annie St. Arneault (23), Annie Turcotte (20), Barbara Daigneault (22), Barbara Klucznick Widajewicz (31), Genevieve Bergeron (21), Helene Colgan (23), Maryse Laganiere (25), Maryse Leclair (23), Maud Haviernick (29), Michele Richard (21), Nathalie Croteau (23), Sonia Pelletier (28).
Violence against women is still happening at alarming rates. Every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner and 67% of Canadians say they know a woman who has experienced physical or sexual abuse. That statistic only covers people who had told people about those experiences. Aboriginal women are killed 6x more often than non-Aboriginal women. With the rise of computers cyber violence has become a new platform for women to be attacked. These are only a handful of the statistics available from the Canadian Women’s Foundation and while they may not be as current as 2018 it is clear there is a problem.
This event is open to students and the public and free to attend.