CFUW Stratford marks 35th anniversary of Montreal Massacre with flag-lowering at city hall

Those who attended a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of Montreal Massacre pose for a photo on the front steps of Stratford city hall Dec. 6.

Members of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Stratford hosted a solemn ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre at Stratford city hall Dec. 6, during which they read the names of the 14 women killed and called for continued advocacy and action to address violence against women.

As part of the event, Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma lowered the city hall flag to half mast to honour the 14 women killed during the mass shooting at École Polytechnique in Montreal, Que. on Dec. 6, 1989.

“I believe we’re here for two reasons,” Ritsma said after he lowered the city hall flag. “One, to mourn and grieve with the families and friends who lost such beautiful lives, but also (to recognize) the importance of us not losing sight of the work that needs to continue to be done.

“As lately as yesterday afternoon, we had a situation in our community of gender-based violence. And earlier this fall, we had a young lady shot as well in our community. It is important for us to recognize these beautiful lives and also ensure that we do our part to carry their voices forward and do our part daily in our community to recognize this isn’t a one-time occurrence. This continues.”

The recent, local and publicized occurrences of gender-based violence in Stratford referenced by Ritsma include the shooting death of Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes, 35, at a home on Ontario Street in the early morning hours of Oct. 15, which resulted in Keith Savile, 41, being charged by Stratford police with second-degree murder.

The other instance, which began in the early morning hours of Dec. 5, involved a female victim of what police say was intimate partner violence seen walking along Mornington Street. The person who spotted her, took her to hospital and called police. Stratford police officers then located the accused at a residence on Mornington Street, where he barricaded himself inside. Ultimately, officers were able to negotiate a peaceful resolution, and the man was charged with a list of serious offences.

These two cases of gender-based violence are only the most recent and publicized examples of an issue the city and many other communities across the country have declared an epidemic.

Perth-Wellington MP John Nater also spoke at the flag-lowering ceremony in front of city hall Dec. 6.

“I’m always struck when we hear the 14 names read, how young these young women really were,” Nater said. “They were young, they were innocent, they were going to school, many of them in engineering programs, and they were murdered, they were killed because they were women.

“So, every time we hear the 14 names read, we remember each of them as a woman, as a family member, as a friend, as a loved one. Today we remember their names, but every day we commit to doing more to ensure violence against women and the hatred that was on display 35 years ago today is ended and that we take a strong stance each and every day, not just this day, to end the horrendous violence against women.”

By reading the names of Montreal Massacre victims out loud and holding their photos for all to see, the CFUW Stratford members aim to keep their memories alive on the anniversary of their deaths each year as a reminder there is still much more work to do in combatting gender-based and intimate-partner violence.

“The women who were killed would be in there 50s and in their 60s now,” said CFUW Stratford advocacy representative Cynthia Hastings during the ceremony. “We mourn for the lives they were not given the chance to live and for their families and friends who have been mourning their deaths all these long years. We also remember the 10 other women who the gunman targeted and the four men who were wounded. The survivors watched the deaths of these young women who were friends and fellow students.

“In the case of the nursing student, her spouse was with her and saw her killed for all present. These killings were a horror that would be impossible to forget. I wish we could say this tragedy marked the beginning of the end of violence against women, but it did not. We are still struggling to end gender-based violence and women are still dying. … To remember is to work for change.”