There were 14 of them. They were young, smart, and filled with ambition. They were looking forward to the bright future that lay ahead for them. No one knows when their time is up, and those young women never could have guessed that one evil man was about to rob them of what was most precious—their lives.
Exactly 30 years ago today, these young women were heading to university. For many of them, it was the last day of class, which is normally a happy day. What were they thinking about when they got up that morning? They might have been thinking about the upcoming holidays, or reuniting with their families and loved ones. Maybe they had a Christmas carol in their head. They were likely a little nervous about their upcoming exams. They might have been thinking of future projects they wanted to take on.
All of those hopes and dreams were brutally destroyed that afternoon when a man committed a terrible and violent crime. On December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique, he separated men and women and started shooting the women, murdering 14 women and wounding many others.
Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte lost their lives. These names of these 14 women deserve to be read and honoured.
The victims of the École Polytechnique were wounded or killed by a man who targeted them because they were women. Thirty years later, we pause on this day, December 6, to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
As a father of three wonderful girls, as a brother to two brilliant sisters and as a husband to an extraordinary woman, it pains me to think that these women who I love so much, and all women today, still have to be concerned for their safety just because they are women.
It is completely unacceptable that violence against women is still happening. That is why I am proposing that all Canadians, myself included, do more than just be respectful toward women. Let us also be proactive and demonstrate through our actions how much we value the safety and dignity of every life, of every single woman.
Thirty years later, let us honour the memory of these innocent victims.
Let us consider the messages we send about the value, worth and dignity of women in our speeches, our actions and the examples we set for our sons and daughters. Let us each decide to do our part to make Canada a safer place. In this way, 30 years later, let us honour the memory of the victims of École Polytechnique.