More protections for women urged

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This article was published 07/12/2008 (6412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — The 19th anniversary of the worst mass shooting in Canada’s history was marked with commemorative ceremonies Saturday.

“Together, men and women, let’s act,” said Michele Asselin, president of the Quebec Federation of Women.

The organization held a ceremony at Montreal’s Place du 6 Decembre to mark the killings of 14 women at the Universite de Montreal’s engineering school Dec. 6, 1989.

“Let’s break the wall of silence. Today, we’re wearing the white ribbon in solidarity, but every day we can act.”

Dec. 6 has officially become known as the National Day of Commemoration and Action Against Violence Against Women, and Asselin urged people to declare solidarity with women globally who are victims of violence.

The annual ceremony is simple: The names of the 14 women killed by gunman Marc Lepine are read aloud as roses are placed on the 14 sculptures in the public square engraved in their honour.

About 50 people attended, including community leaders and politicians from all three levels of government.

Lepine, who blamed women for the failures in his life, also wounded a number of other people before killing himself.

Louise Riendeau, the spokeswoman for a Quebec women’s shelter association, said almost two decades of lobbying has helped improve the condition of women in Canada.

“There’s more help in shelters, some laws have been changed, but we still have work to do. We need to give more help to native women, disabled women, women who have been raped. And we need to continue to raise awareness.”

Aboriginal women continue to be especially vulnerable to violence, said Ellen Gabriel, president of Quebec Native Women Inc.

“Canada and the U.S. have the right to protect all people equally under the law. Canada has failed miserably,” she said. “I don’t think there’s enough seriousness taken by the authorities and enough proper training given to authorities in regards to conjugal violence and violence in general.”

The spokeswomen also urged federal and provincial political leaders to continue to protect and strengthen gun-control laws.

In Quebec, Anastasia’s Law, which bans firearms in schools and on public transit and requires gun-club owners to report suspicious behaviour, took effect in September. The law was named in memory of Anastasia DeSousa, who was killed by gunman Kimver Gill in 2006 at Montreal’s Dawson College.

— The Canadian Press