Polytechnique: Events planned across Canada to mark grim 30th anniversary

Wreath placed at École Polytechnique Students and staff at École Polytechnique place a wreath of white roses at a commemorative plaque.

MONTREAL — Several events are planned across the country Friday to mark the grim 30th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

On the evening of Dec. 6, 1989, a gunman entered Montreal's École Polytechnique, killing 14 women in an anti-feminist mass slaying before taking his own life.

Friday at 8:15 a.m., students and staff at the school's campus placed a wreath of white roses at a commemorative plaque. All classes and exams at the school have been cancelled for the day.

The flags at the school's main pavilion will fly at half-mast until dusk.

At 9 a.m., a book about the events and the stories behind the 14 victims written by former Le Devoir journalist Josee Boileau was released.

In the evening, the public will gather on Mount Royal at 5:10 p.m. -- when the first shots were fired -- and 14 beams of light will shine over the Montreal skyline as the names of the 14 women are read aloud.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General Julie Payette and Quebec Premier François Legault are among the dignitaries expected at the event.

To mark the 30th anniversary, 14 engineering schools across the country will also each shine a beam of light in honour of the victims.

The victims were honoured Thursday at a ceremony at Quebec’s National Assembly, while the City of Montreal changed the wording on a plaque at the Place du 6-décembre-1989 to reflect the fact that the attack was anti-feminist and that 14 women were killed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2019.