35 Years Since December 6

35 years ago today, a man attacked the campus of École Polytechnique in Montréal and killed 14 women and injured 13 other people.

I can’t believe it’s been that long. I remember it well. I wrote a poem on the 10th anniversary to try to honour the women.

In contrast to today’s world, where many mass shootings are no longer newsworthy, it was extremely shocking to hear about this tragic event.

The fact that this… person… chose to target women is especially heinous.

I’m grateful that no similar event of the same scale has happened since then in Canada, and I hope that continues. The 2020 attacks in Nova Scotia are the only ones of a similar scale as the École Polytechnique attacks – to date.

We need to continue working to reduce violence against women, and address mental health issues that lead to this kind of violence.

I know I feel helpless to do anything about this. What can we as individuals do?

Here are a few thoughts. Please chime in with your own.

• Teach your sons. Teach them empathy and understanding, teach them ways to deal with anger. Teach them that it’s OK to reach out for help and to treat women with respect and equality.
• Support a local women’s shelter. In Manitoba you can support the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters, or a local one. Sheltersafe.ca is a country-wide reference for women’s shelters.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.