Memorials were held across the country on Thursday to remember the 14 women who were gunned down at Montréal’s Ecole Polytechnique 23 years ago.
It is also the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and people across the nation attended ceremonies to reflect and discuss ways to stop the violence.
On December 6, 1989, Marc Lepine entered the Montreal-based engineering school, separated the men from the women and then shot and killed 14 female students.
Lepine also injured nine other women and four men, before turning the gun on himself. He left a note blaming feminists for ruining his life.
The 14 women who were killed were: 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 and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
A ceremony was held at the University of Calgary on Thursday.
Men and women gathered to sing hymns and light a white candle to remember the victims.
A service was also held at SAIT Polytechnic and students placed white roses on an outdoor memorial to mark the 23 anniversary of the massacre.
Memorials for the victims were also held in Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Hamilton.
A large plaque bearing the names of the victims has also been mounted outside the engineering school itself.
(With files from ctvnews.ca)
