Memorial

Memorial, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Today is the twenty-second anniversary of the massacre at the École Polytechnique. I wrote about it before.  Out of this sad event, Canada enacted a gun registry. Now the "Harper Government" wants to sack the long gun registry, as it is, according to them, not fair to hunters and farmers. Odd that no one thinks registering a car is not fair but guns should be exempt. The police would like to keep the registry; they say it helps them know if there are guns present when called out. You can learn more here.

The government of Quebec wants to start its own gun registry and wants the records for Quebec owned guns. The Harper government wants to destroy all the records, which the tax payers have paid for. This government does not represent me.

We will remember the women who were killed and will, in their names, continue to fight for the conditions that prevent violence to women.

We will not forget

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

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

Day 337: Memorial

Day 337: Memorial, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I knew I wanted to photograph this park, It is a memorial to the women who were slain on December 6, 1989 by Marc Lepine in the École Polytechnique (the engineering school) at Université de Montréal. Their only fault was that they were women. Lepine stated in his suicide note that he was fighting feminism. He specifically targeted women in his rampage and fourteen lives were lost. This event is commemorated each year, and as I won't be in Montreal on the 6th I thought I would feature it today.

The event remains a horror to all who remember. I find it hard to think of it with dry eyes. The only positive is that Canada has enacted a gun registry (which is in jeopardy under our current prime minister).

The rain was pelting down as I stopped to take this photograph, fitting weather for the subject. The memorial was created by sculptor, Rose-Marie Goulet and is called Nef pour quatorze reines (Nave for Fourteen Queens). Each woman is represented by the large marker and her name in stylized writing.

Detail of memorial

We will not forget
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
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz