After years of holding a vigil in remembrance of the Montreal massacre in Marianne’s Park, Women in Crisis will this year hold the event Friday evening at a funeral home on Gordon Street.
Event organizer Jessica St. Peter said the event being moved to Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home's Hart Chapel this year will help to alleviate any issues with the weather, as well as accommodating more people for the 30th anniversary of the 1989 shooting at École Polytechnique in Montreal, in which 14 women were killed.
“It was the first time the nation couldn’t deny that femicide was the reason. It was so blatant,” said St. Peter of the shooting.
The annual event marking each anniversary of the shooting has been hosted locally at The Boathouse and Marianne’s Park for longer than the 11 years St. Peter has been with Women in Crisis, she said.
“With the weather, it’s hard to predict what Marianne’s Park is going to be like and the space at the Boathouse — sometimes we grow out of it,” said St. Peter. “We are hoping this space will allow us to have more people attend.”
The event also marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The chapel at the funeral home was offered for this year’s event. Aside from being a large indoor space, St. Peter noted it is also more accessible for some people than the park was.
“The accessibility of the place is a great addition,” she said.
Even though the killing occurred 30 years ago, St. Peter said the ripple effects can still be felt to this day. At the same time, Friday’s event will acknowledge some of the positive changes in society that have happened in the years since.
“The vigil will take place in the chapel and we will have a social gathering downstairs to connect and think about how each of us as individuals can make a pledge to work toward the elimination of gender-based violence,” said St. Peter.
The 14 women killed in Montreal in 1989 will be remembered, as well as the women on a list of femicides in Ontario.
“We will take time to acknowledge them and the loss of them and their lives in our community,” said St. Peter.
The Dec. 6 vigil is being held at 6 p.m. Friday at Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home at 1099 Gordon Street.
“It’s open to anyone to come together and acknowledge what this day means and what their hopes are for the future,” said St. Peter.
