MONTREAL 鈥� School shooting survivors, dignitaries and the families of victims paid tribute Friday to the 14 women killed in an anti-feminist attack at Polytechnique Montr茅al more than three decades ago.
On Friday evening, 14 beams of light illuminated the sky above Mount Royal, lit one at a time as the names of the victims were read out. For the first time this year, a 15th beam shone in memory of all victims of femicide.
Families of victims were present for the ceremony along with dignitaries including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Fran莽ois Legault.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Trudeau said Canada must continue its efforts to prevent future tragedies.
鈥淭onight, as we gather to mark 35 years since the killing of 14 women simply because they were women at 脡cole Polytechnique, we also remember that in the years since, far too many more women are killed or suffer violence, and it has to stop,鈥� he said.
Legault recalled the disbelief he felt when the tragedy unfolded over three decades ago.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 think it could happen. That鈥檚 why it was shocking," he told reporters following Friday's ceremony.
Legault welcomed the addition of the 15th beam and urged those who suspect a woman is being subjected to harm to speak out.
Nathalie Provost, a survivor of the Polytechnique shooting, said the anniversary stirs many emotions but the victims must not be forgotten.
"In my understanding, we have a duty of memory because a society is never completed or fixed," said Provost.
Louise De Sousa, whose daughter was killed in the 2006 Dawson College shooting in Montreal, was also in attendance.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to support Polytechnique because my daughter died at Dawson College," she said before the ceremony, explaining that she and other family members of victims share an understanding through grief.
"We have the same emotions. We all know what we went through. Unless you experienced it, you really can鈥檛 know what it is.鈥�
Montreal Mayor Val茅rie Plante, who also participated in the Mount Royal ceremony, released a statement earlier Friday.
"Thirty-five years later, we still have to reiterate that women have the right to live without fear, to follow their aspirations and to achieve their dreams," she said. "Every step toward equality benefits society as a whole."
Earlier in the day, at a separate vigil, dignitaries gathered in front of Polytechnique Montr茅al's main campus.
Among those silently laying white flowers at the foot of a commemorative plaque was Louis Courville, who was the interim director of the school in 1989.
"I am glad that there are many people who did not forget what has happened," Courville, 90, said afterwards. "At the same time, it's the memory of a very sad, horrible thing."
The women murdered in 1989 were Genevi猫ve Bergeron, H茅l猫ne Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Lagani猫re, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Mich猫le Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
Thirteen others were injured in the attack perpetrated by Marc L茅pine, who took his own life. He had ranted about feminists ruining his life.
Courville was in his office when the shooting began and all he could hear was a rain of bullets. He assumed an armed group had besieged the school. "I couldn't think that it was only one person. I tried to figure out, what are they going to ask of me? Am I going to have to negotiate something?" he recalled.
"But Marc L茅pine wasn't coming to negotiate," Courville added. In the days and weeks that followed, he and his wife Jeanne Dauphinais would travel across the province to meet with families of the victims.
Polytechnique Montr茅al president Maud Cohen said Friday there's a duty to learn from what happened. "We need to remember these young ladies that lost their lives: there were 13 students, one employee," Cohen told reporters.
"It's about making sure everybody can have a path forward," she added. "It's about making sure that everyone, women specifically on Dec. 6, can feel welcome, they can feel like they can blossom and they can really enjoy a place where they can fulfil their dreams."
Mathieu Thibault, a fourth-year civil engineering student at Polytechnique, had the tragedy of Dec. 6 imparted on him at a young age. His mother was at the school the night of the shooting and left with everyone rushing out of the building. Both his parents graduated from the school.
Thibault grew up hearing about double standards and sexism on the job, and upon admission to university, he joined a group advocating for more women in the engineering profession.
"It's a heavy moment, you know, it's time to reflect on how we act: where are we in society?" Thibault said. "And this year in particular, I feel like because it's the 35th, but it's also a year where we've seen a certain rise of toxic masculinity."
Cohen said she is worried that incursions on women's rights in the United States could seep into Canada.
"I'm wondering if the rights that I have right now are going to be the same that the next generation of women are going to have," Cohen said. "I think we all have a responsibility, not just us women, but also the men around us to make sure this doesn't happen to any groups, specifically women."
鈥擶ith files from Joe Bongiorno
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
