Hosted by the departments of Health and Wellness, Spiritual Care and St. John’s College, the event will commemorate and honour the 14 women who lost their lives in the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre and all those who have died as a result of gender-based violence.

“This is an opportunity for the entire university community to engage in remembrance and commemoration as a way to show solidarity with those who have experienced gender-based violence, particularly women, and recommit ourselves to the essential work of countering gender-based aggression explicitly and implicitly,” says Edgar French, spiritual care coordinator at the U of M.

In addition to a brief program featuring remarks from members of the U of M community, attendees will be invited to share and consider actions to address all forms of gender-based violence. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event.

Event Details

When: Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017 at 12 p.m.

Where: St. John’s College Chapel, 92 Dysart Road, University of Manitoba

Special Guests: Elder Marlene Kayseas, Indigenous Student Centre Elder-in-Residence
                            Marcia Friesen, Associate Professor & Dean (Design Education)
                            Haya Izhar, Faculty of Science Students’ Association Women’s Rep

The Parliament of Canada established the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada in 1991 to mark the anniversary of the murders at École Polytechnique de Montréal. It is part of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which begins on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25 and ends on International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

“Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because they were women,” says the federal Status of Women department on its website.

“As well as commemorating the 14 young women whose lives ended in an act of gender-based violence that shocked the nation, December 6 represents an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in our society,” writes the Status of Women. “It is also an opportunity to consider the women and girls for whom violence is a daily reality, and to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based violence. And finally, it is a day on which communities can consider concrete actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.”

Engineering student Ella Thomson, who organized this year’s memorial at the U of M.

U of M Engineering Society secretary Ella Thomson organized this year’s December 6th memorial at the university. Thomson, who is a second-year electrical engineering student, worked with student volunteers Kara Henrie, Hunter Loewen, Sara Sadowy, Calene Treichel, Chanel Cannon, Katie Whyte, Emily Kiely Smith, Joshua Charles, Ryan Kruk, Nevin Neil, Dayakarn Sandhu, Kim Laberinto, Andre Marchildon, Braydon Whittington, Celine Rivard and Veronica Marriott.

Her motivation was simple. “The Montreal Polytechnique massacre was a tragedy in engineering history,” she says.

“Each year, this memorial marks the national day of remembrance and action on violence against women. This year’s memorial is particularly important, as it is the 25th anniversary of the massacre. It is also important to recognize how much the situation for women in engineering has improved in the past 25 years, but also how far there still is to go.”

Thomson adds that she hopes the memorial will communicate the importance of taking action on violence against women in order to prevent events like this from happening in the future.

The commemoration is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the EITC Atrium, Faculty of Engineering.