As every year, Polytechnique Montréal will pay tribute on December 6 to the 14 young women who were murdered on this date 34 years earlier, in 1989.
The flags in front of the main Polytechnique pavilion are at half-mast until dusk.
A laying of wreaths of white roses has been planned in front of the Polytechnique commemorative plaque by representatives of the establishment and student associations. The general public is invited to gather in front of the plaque which is located near the student entrance.
White ribbons will be distributed at the University of Montreal and the central tower of the Roger-Gaudry pavilion will be illuminated as a commemoration.
In the meantime, the Polytechnique Student Association and PolyPhoto will present an exhibition in tribute to the 14 victims of the massacre, in the tunnel connecting the main pavilion to the Lassonde pavilions.
And at 5:10 p.m., the time the first shots were fired on December 6, 1989, 14 beams will illuminate the sky above Mount Royal. They will be lit one at a time, a few seconds apart, when the names of the 14 victims are called. The event will be broadcast live on Polytechnique Montréal’s institutional social media accounts.
The population is also invited to worship at Place-du-6-Décembre, a park named in memory of the 14 murdered women. The place located at the corner of Decelles Street and Queen-Mary Road wants to recall the fundamental values of respect and condemn all forms of violence against women. We can observe the work entitled “Nave for fourteen queens”.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has announced that he will attend a vigil organized in tribute to the victims at 4:45 p.m.
Twelve of the 14 murdered women were engineering students; they were aged 20 to 29. Another, who was 31 years old, was studying nursing and the other victim was a 25-year-old employee in the finance department.
The victims are Geneviève Bergeron, Maryse Laganière, Hélène Colgan, Maryse Leclair, Nathalie Croteau, Anne-Marie Lemay, Barbara Daigneault, Sonia Pelletier, Anne-Marie Edward, Michèle Richard, Maud Haviernick, Annie St-Arneault, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz and Annie Turcotte.