Join the community in Perth at noon, Smiths Falls at 3 p.m.

LAURIE WEIR

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada observed annually on December 6, commemorates the tragic events of December 6, 1989. On this day, 14 women were murdered in a gender-based attack at l’École Polytechnique in Montreal. The day was established to honour the victims, acknowledge the ongoing issue of gender-based violence, and encourage collective action to prevent such violence in the future.

Join the Lanark County Interval House and Community Support at two locations on Friday, Dec. 6. At noon, the group will be at the victims’ monument in Perth, and 3 p.m. there will be a second ceremony at the Smiths Falls pebble mosaic monument at the town hall.

This solemn occasion also highlights broader societal challenges, including economic and systemic inequities faced by women, especially those from marginalized communities. Symbolic gestures such as wearing white ribbons and participating in commemorative ceremonies are common, alongside advocacy and support initiatives like the White Ribbon Campaign​.

For Lanark County Interval House and Community Support’s ceremonies in Perth and Smiths Falls, the focus will likely be on remembrance, solidarity, and community engagement to combat violence against women.

The 14 women who were killed during the massacre at l’École Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6, 1989, were:

• Geneviève Bergeron (21 years old, civil engineering student)
• Hélène Colgan (23 years old, mechanical engineering student)
• Nathalie Croteau (23 years old, mechanical engineering student)
• Barbara Daigneault (22 years old, mechanical engineering student)
• Anne-Marie Edward (21 years old, chemical engineering student)
• Maud Haviernick (29 years old, materials engineering student)
• Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (31 years old, nursing student)
• Maryse Laganière (25 years old, budget clerk in the school’s finance department)
• Maryse Leclair (23 years old, materials engineering student)
• Anne-Marie Lemay (22 years old, mechanical engineering student)
• Sonia Pelletier (28 years old, mechanical engineering student)
• Michèle Richard (21 years old, materials engineering student)
• Annie St-Arneault (23 years old, mechanical engineering student)
• Annie Turcotte (20 years old, materials engineering student)

These women were targeted specifically because of their gender in what remains one of Canada’s most devastating acts of gender-based violence. The event continues to fuel advocacy for women’s rights and action against violence.