National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

December 6th marked the twentieth anniversary of the murder of fourteen women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. Since that day, Canadians have marked this day as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This year, two grade nine students produced a video that deals with this topic. At a meeting of junior high students, this video was shown and students participated in an activity where they decorated white t-shirts.

I believe it is important to mark the anniversary of the massacre at Ecole Polytechnique with young people. We must pause to consider the immense toll that violence against women takes on our society and ask our students to do the same.

December 6th is also a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the strides we have made since 1989. In large part due to the Montreal Massacre, women shelters were opened across the country and domestic abuse became a topic that was no longer hidden from view. However, Canadian society still has far to go. Women and other marginalized groups continue to experience violence at alarming rates. The following video produced by Cassandra and Dominique is a perfect illustration of this fact. I would like to thank Cassie and Dominique for being leaders in this project; it is both professional and impactful.