Polytechnique massacre remembered in Montreal

Hundreds of people flocked to the top of Mount RoyalWednesday after darkto attend the annualmemorial ceremony for the 14 women killed at cole Polytechniqueon Dec. 6, 1989, the worst mass shooting in Canadian history.

MayorValriePlante,Dominique Anglade, Quebec's deputy premier, and the wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, SophieGrgoireTrudeau, helped markthe 28th anniversary of the women's deaths, as did survivors of the shooting and friends and family of the victims.

Plante said it's important to remember the women who died "because they were women."

cole Polytechnique memorial at Mount Royal

7 years ago

Duration 1:00

Hundreds of people flocked to the top of Mount Royal Wednesday after dark, to attend the annual memorial ceremony for the 14 women killed at cole Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989, in the worst mass shooting in Canadian history.

She said that work still needs to be done to ensure the city is safe for everyone, including women, children and people with disabilities.

"Though Montreal is a good place to live, as women, we always have this little voice wondering, 'Hmm, is it safe for me to walk in this area or to use public transport at this time?' These are issues that need to be addressed," Plantesaid.

• AIH: How one survivor described the Montreal Massacre the day after the shooting

Many at the memorial event, which took place in front of thechalet on Mount Royal, wore a white ribbon on their lapel, a global symbol of thecampaign to endviolence against women.

For the fourth year, 14 beams of lightilluminated the Montreal skyline at 5 p.m., and remained on until 10 p.m.in honour of each of the victims:

• Genevive Bergeron, civil engineering student.
• Hlne Colgan, mechanical engineering student.
• Nathalie Croteau, mechanical engineering student.
• Barbara Daigneault, mechanical engineering student.
• Anne-Marie Edward, chemical engineering student.
• Maud Haviernick, materials engineering student.
• Maryse Laganire, budget clerk.
• Maryse Leclair, materials engineering student.
• Anne-Marie Lemay, mechanical engineering student.
• Sonia Pelletier, mechanical engineering student.
• Michle Richard, materials engineering student.
• Annie St-Arneault, mechanical engineering student.
• Annie Turcotte, materials engineering student.
• Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, nursing student.

National Day of Remembrance

The anniversary coincides with the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

In other cities in Canada, flags flew at half-mast in remembrance of the 14.

Overseas, Prime Minister JustinTrudeau lit candles for the victims during his visit to China.

Earlier in the day, members of the student community atcolePolytechniquegathered around the plaque which commemorates the women outside the complex where the shooting happened.

• Polytechniquepresents scholarship in honour of Montreal massacre victims
• Remember the 14: The stories of the Montreal massacre victims

The 1989 massacre was a turning point in the history of gun control in Canada and the event that solidifiedQuebec's more restrictive attitude toward guns.

Last week,a pro-gun lobby group in Quebec backed downfrom a plan to hold arally at Place du 6-dcembre-1989, a park near the entrance to Universit de Montralon Queen Mary Road at Decelles Avenue where the 14 women are commemorated.

The event organizer chose the location in order to spark controversy, saying thatthe killings at colePolytechnique, Canada's worst mass shooting,are unfairly used by gun controladvocates.

The rally organizers moved their event to another locationafter beingroundly condemned.