As they honour 14 killed at École Polytechnique, Manitobans say change needed to stop violence against women

A day to remember the 14 women who were fatally shot at a Montreal university 34 years ago was marked Wednesday with events around Winnipeg, by people who reflected on the tragedy and how much work still needs to be done to prevent another from happening.

On Dec. 6, 1989, 14 women in an engineering class at École Polytechnique were killed by a man motivated by his hatred of feminists. 

In Winnipeg, participants at different events for the National Day of Awareness and Action on Violence Against Women honoured their memory while also acknowledging the many women of all walks of life who have been victims of gender-based violence.

"When I found out about what happened 34 years ago when I joined engineering, it was emotional, it was difficult," said Makenna Coldwell, co-president of the Women of Manitoba Engineering Network and a fifth-year engineering student at the University of Manitoba.

"If you think about it, that could've been me and my classmates if I was there 34 years ago in that specific school." 

Coldwell said she has volunteered for events to mark Dec. 6 since her first year of engineering at the University of Manitoba. A rally of remembrance was held Wednesday morning. 

"It's important just because I am a woman in engineering," she said. "When I look back at those events, it could've happened to me, but I don't want these things to ever happen again." 

She said she wants to "inspire people to refuse taking violence as an option, to be more inclusive, and just inspire women and girls to have a safe space in engineering."

"You deserve to be here."

RRC vigil chance to 're-commit and re-energize' 

A vigil was also held at Red River College Polytechnic later Wednesday.

Photos of the 14 women killed sat on a table at the front of the room, among lit candles and flowers. The evening began with a drum song, followed by speeches from Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Canadian Museum for Human Rights CEO Isha Khan.

Fontaine, who lived in Montreal at the time of the killings, still hasn't forgotten that day.

"There was something about waking the next morning and knowing that this had just happened in your city, it was unbelievable," she said.

"And then having to go to work and being on the bus, I remember the bus was so quiet.… The whole of Montreal was in shock and in mourning and disbelief." 

Fontaine said 34 years later, some things have changed — gender-based violence is discussed more and there's better understanding of it, she said. 

There's also a "movement of eradicating gender-based violence and it's talked about in places like universities," she said.

But "there's still so much work to be done … so that women, girls and gender-diverse folks are safe and are free to live their life safely, authentically, the way they choose," said Fontaine. 

Khan said while the vigil at RRC Polytechnic was about honouring the women killed 34 years ago, there was also some  sense of hope in the room.

Events held on Dec. 6 are an opportunity to "re-commit and re-energize," because they bring together many people who feel the same way.

That helps them carry on their work every day to end gender-based violence, Khan said.

"I think that commemorative days like this are important because we take a pause and we're intentional about the conversation," said Khan.

"But I think we know when there are systemic issues like this and many other human rights issues, we have to continue to do the work."