20th Anniversary of Montreal Massacre

Twenty years ago today 14 young women were slaughtered at L'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal by a gunman on a rampage ranting about "feminists."

Top Row L to R: Anne-Marie Edward, Anne-Marie Lemay, Annie St Arneault, Annie Turcotte, Barbara Daigneault, Barbara Maria Klucznik, Genevieve Bergeron
Bottom Row L to R: Helene Colgan, Maryse LeClaire, Maryse Leganiere, Maud Haviernier, Michele Richard, Nathalie Croteau, Sonia Pelletier

Sadly, we're nowhere near a place where we can say this couldn't happen again.

“Many of the safeguards put in place after the Montreal massacre are now being dismantled. Last month, Parliament voted to scrap the federal long-gun registry, despite the pleas of parents of the students slain at l'École Polytechnique, and of police and women's groups...This month, the government of Stephen Harper refused (again) to call an independent investigation into the disappearance of hundreds of aboriginal women. In 2006, the Conservatives chopped the budget of Status of Women Canada, which provides funding to community groups working to combat violence against women.”

Read the rest here: *  Twenty years on, little has changed