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Chilliwack lights candles for victims of Montreal Massacre

UFV and Ann Davis lead service in remembrance of 14 young women killed at school
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A woman lights a candle at the memorial. (Darren McDonald/UFV)

UFV and the Ann Davis Society joined together on Wednesday evening to remember the lives of the 14 young women killed simply for being women.

They held their annual candlelight vigil in recognition of the National Day of Remembrance, Dec. 6, outside their campus at Five Corners, downtown Chilliwack. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, the day marks the anniversary of the women’s murders in 1989, at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal, also known as the Montreal Massacre.

“As well as commemorating the 14 young women whose lives ended in an act of gender-based violence that shocked the nation,” a UFV notice about the event said, “the day represents an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in our society.”

The public was able to light candles to hold, and there were staff from Ann Davis as well as counsellors on hand.

READ MORE: Light a candle Dec. 6 in Chilliwack at Five Corners

The women were:

•Geneviève Bergeron (1968), civil engineering

•Hélène Colgan (1966), mechanical engineering

•Nathalie Croteau (1966), mechanical engineering

•Barbara Daigneault (1967), mechanical engineering

•Anne-Marie Edward (1968), chemical engineering

•Maud Haviernick (1960), materials engineering

•Maryse Laganière (1964), budget clerk

•Maryse Leclair (1966), materials engineering

•Anne-Marie Lemay (1967), mechanical engineering

•Sonia Pelletier (1961), mechanical engineering

•Michèle Richard (1968), materials engineering

•Annie St-Arneault (1966), mechanical engineering

•Annie Turcotte (1969), materials engineering

•Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (1958), nursing

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The public was invited to attend a candlelight vigil at UFV Five Corners in recognition for the National Day of Remembrance, Dec. 6. (Darren McDonald/UFV)
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A young girl holds a rose in front of candles set out in remembrance of the 14 engineering students killed in 1989 in Montreal. (Darren McDonald/UFV)