A candlelight vigil to mark the Montreal Massacre of Dec. 6 has moved to a new location in Chilliwack for 2011.
Held outside the Chilliwack Museum in past years, it will be observed this year on the steps of the downtown courthouse Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., said organizers at the Ann Davis Transition Society.
As well as remembering the 14 young women whose lives were snuffed out in an act of gender-based violence that shocked the nation, the Dec. 6 day represents an opportunity to reflect on the scourge of violence against women in our society, and ways to combat it.
Through an act of Parliament, Dec. 6 became the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada.
It's also recognition, that the senseless murders of 14 engineering students at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal on that snowy Dec. 6 in 1989, were perpetrated because they were women. The crazed gunman made a point of separating the male from female students before starting his murderous rampage, and finally turning the gun on himself.
At the Chilliwack vigil, the names of the 14 women will be read out. Attendees are asked to bring a candle.