December 3, 2025
On December 6, 1989, a gunman walked into L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and killed 14 women and injured 14 more (mostly engineering students) because of their gender. On the anniversary of this event, known as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we remember:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
Thirty-six years later, we continue to see deadly hatred toward girls, women, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people with disproportionate violence toward Indigenous girls, trans women of colour, and two-spirit people. To date, the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability reports that 133 girls and women have been killed in Canada in 2025 so far.
Join us in memory of the lives lost in the mass femicide at L’Ecole Polytechnique and standing up against gender-based violence by attending a Candlelight Vigil on December 5 or 6, 2025.
Candlelight Vigil
Join the campus community on Friday, December 5 at the Candlelight Vigil, from 12-1pm in the breezeway between buildings A and B on the Abbotsford campus.
In Chilliwack, the Ann Davis Transition Society is inviting the community to their vigil on Saturday, December 6, at 10 am. The event takes place in their parking lot at 9046 Young Road.
Programs and Resources
- Facts, stats, and WAGE’s impact – Gender-based Violence
- BC Government information on Gender Based Violence, Sexual Assault, and Domestic Violence
- The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- UFV Student Rights & Responsibilities Office Sexualized Violence Prevention Program support and help
- UFV Student Union Society Campus Pride: Pride club, resources, support, events
- Chilliwack Ann Davis Transition Society transition house, counselling and programs
- Chilliwack Wilma’s Transition House Xolhemet Society, Indigenous transition house, outreach, counselling
- Chilliwack Community Services specialized victim assistance
- SARA (Support, Acceptance, Resources, Action) for Women, Abbotsford-based gender safety resources, housing, counselling, outreach
- Abbotsford Archway Community Services counselling, specialized victim assistance, multicultural help
- Hope and Area Transition Society counselling, sexual violence response, transition house
- Campus Security Safewalk Program: escort to any campus location, any time, for any reason
Amber Gazso
Gender Equity Representative
