Montreal Massacre quietly remembered
CTV.ca News Staff
There will be solemn services across Canada today to mark the 14th anniversary of the Montreal massacre, Canada's worst mass shooting.
On Dec. 6, 1989, Marc Lepine shot 27 female engineering students at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, killing 14 of the accomplished women, before fatally shooting himself. In a note he left behind, Lepine said he was committing suicide "not for economic reasons...but for political reasons," saying feminists had ruined his life.
Candlelight vigils, memorial services, and discussions will be held at sex assault centres and women's shelters across Canada today. In Montreal, Choeur Maha, a 25-woman choir, will sing to honour the victims.
"Much has changed since that tragic day in 1989 to help put an end to violence against women and girls in Canada and around the world," Jean Augustine, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women said in a statement.
"Yet, despite efforts from various organizations and governments, there still remains much more to be done as many women and girls still live daily with the threat of violence. All Canadians must continue to remember and take action, not only on this day but every day of the year."
The mass murder prompted tighter gun laws, which included the creation of the controversial national firearms registry.
It also prompted Parliament to create the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women in 1991, to coincide with the anniversary of the tragedy.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1070722481675_115/?hub=Canada
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