Press Release
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Université de Moncton among 14 Universities Chosen to Participate in the 30th Anniversary of the Antifeminist Attack of December 6, 1989
A national ceremony will be organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the antifeminist attack that took place on December 6, 1989. The ceremony, in which Université de Moncton, École Polytechnique de Montréal and other universities across the country will be participating, will honour the memory of the 14 women who were killed during the attack.
Université de Moncton, from its Moncton campus, will be one of the 14 universities to project a light beam into the sky representing one of the victims.
“It is high time to put an end to the violence and discrimination faced by women, girls and people of diverse gender identities,” stated Jacques Paul Couturier, Interim President and Vice-Chancellor. “We are honoured to be one of the universities that, by lighting a beam, are able to pay tribute to all victims of gender-based violence. I sincerely thank the members of the status of women committees on the three campuses for their outstanding and important work.”
On December 6, 1989, an armed man murdered 14 women and injured 13 others at École Polytechnique de Montréal. Their deaths sparked a nationwide movement condemning violence against women. In 1991, the Parliament of Canada declared a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
For a third consecutive year, the three campuses of Université de Moncton are organizing activities to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
On the Edmundston campus, the university community and public at large are invited to a ceremony at 11 a.m. in the lobby of the Simon-Larouche pavilion. The activity will be organized by comité Égalité UMCE. A candle for each of the victims of the attack will be lighted, and a representative of the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation will present a silent silhouette representing women who lost their lives in acts of domestic violence. Representatives of L’Escale MadaVic (a transition house for abused women and their children) and L’Éclipse (a support centre for victims of sexual abuse) will introduce guests to the services offered by their organization.
Activities on the Moncton campus will be organized by the Status of Women Committee of the Moncton campus, together with Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick and the Love Shouldn’t Hurt program. The day’s activities include kiosks, a photography exhibition, a silent walk, a commemorative ceremony, the unveiling of a memorial site and a panel on the subject of violence against women.
On the Shippagan campus, the Table de concertation pour contrer la violence conjugale et familiale dans la Péninsule acadienne inc. and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Shippagan campus, invite the university community and surrounding population to a silent walk that will take place at 12:45 on December 6, by the Irène-Léger pavilion’s main entrance. The walk will be preceded by a special meal in the UMCS and CCNB-PA cafeteria. Donations received during the day will be donated to L’Accueil Sainte-Famille that provides women who are victims of domestic and family violence and their children with support services and comforting and safe housing. A silent walk will also take place at the Bathurst UMCS site, at 12:30 on the same day. It will get underway at the entrance to the nursing sector, door 2.
Flags will be half-masted on all three campuses to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
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