Shuswap residents paused to honour murdered and missing women, and reaffirm their commitment to bring an end to gender-based violence.
On the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (Wednesday, Dec. 6), people gathered at Okanagan College’s Salmon Arm campus to honour the 14 women who were killed that day in 1989 by shooter Marc Lépine at École Polytechnique in Montreal.
The occasion was also used to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). A national MMIWG inquiry found “persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses” to be the root cause behind Canada’s “staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.”
“Despite their different circumstances and backgrounds, all of the missing and murdered are connected by economic, social and political marginalization, racism and misogyny woven into the fabric of Canadian society,” explained Chief Commissioner Marion Buller in a June 2019 media release.
In a Dec. 6, 2023 statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on how for many women, girls and gender-diverse people in Canada and around the world, the violent misogyny that led to the tragedy at École Polytechnique still exists.
“The risk of violence is even higher for Indigenous women and girls, racialized women, women living in rural and remote areas, people in 2SLGBTQI+ communities and women with disabilities,” said Trudeau. “That is why we have and continue to strengthen our laws and ensure supports for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.”
As part of the Day of Remembrance gathering at the college, a candlelight vigil was held during which 14 roses, initially displayed by the names of the women killed in the École Polytechnique shooting – Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz – were carried outside and placed in the pond.
Read more: Need for vigil in Salmon Arm to mark Montreal massacre doesn’t lessen after 33 years
Read more: VIDEO: Salmon Arm vigil for murdered women includes a call for action
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