Thirty-five years on, UBC remembers 14 women at École Polytechnique
This week marks 35 years since the tragic massacre of 14 women at École Polytechnique de Montréal.
On December 6, 1989, an armed man walked into an engineering class at École Polytechnique. After forcing the men to leave, he stated that he hated feminists and began to shoot the women in the class. By the end of the shooting, he had killed 14 women and injured 10 more people.
The University of British Columbia will be hosting memorial ceremonies for students, faculty and staff to honour the lives of those lost, on this Tuesday at the Vancouver campus, and on Friday at the Okanagan campus.
The 14 Not Forgotten ceremonies are led by the engineering community at each campus.
“Participating in the remembrance of these women whose lives were stolen is a way to honour their legacy and to stand against the repetition of such tragedies,” said Charlotte Ford, a third-year electrical engineering student who will be speaking at the UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering ceremony.
“As a woman in engineering, it’s a powerful reminder that we belong here, and that those women deserved their rightful place in their field. This event highlights the importance of continuing the fight for equality and representation.”
Each ceremony has invited guest speakers to speak about the detrimental effects of misogyny and the need to for women to hold presence in male-dominated spheres; Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and BC’s Minister of Infrastructure, is among guests invited to speak at the Okanagan ceremony.
“In Canada, 44 per cent of women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes. The risk of gender-based violence is even higher for Indigenous and racialized women and girls, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and those with disabilities,” said Ma, herself a UBC engineering alumna.
“This is a day to remember the 14 women who were killed at Ecole Polytechnique in one of the most shocking acts of femicide in Canadian history. In their honour, we recommit to working together to end gender-based violence in all forms.”
Students will pay tribute to each victim of the massacre, many of whom were current students’ ages when their lives ended, and lay a white rose down for each victim at both ceremonies.
As a result of the tragedy, Parliament designated December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
“Although we are 35 years on from this horrific event, violence against women is still very much a current problem—we can see that in the news almost every day,” said Dr. Agnes d'Entremont, Associate Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion pro tem, and a Professor of Teaching at UBC Vancouver's Department of Mechanical Engineering. “What gives me hope are the many women and allies here at UBC Engineering who never stop working toward inclusion and equity.
“Women belong in engineering. And we are committed as a Faculty to having an environment where our women students and faculty members’ technical, professional and leadership strengths are fully recognized and celebrated.”
