Ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on Friday, Annie Ross, a mechanical engineering professor at Polytechnique Montr茅al, said she often thinks of those who lived through the tragedy but still suffer silently.
On Dec. 6, 1989, a man motivated by a hatred of feminists shot and killed 14 women and injured 13 other people at the Montreal engineering school affiliated with Universit茅 de Montr茅al.
Ross was in her fourth year in mechanical engineering at Polytechnique, and narrowly avoided the gunman. Her friends werenB次元官网网址檛 as lucky.
B次元官网网址淭hat day, I was studying at Polytechnique, preparing for my exams and I was supposed to go in class with them B次元官网网址� with that group. They were presenting their final project and it was all exciting,B次元官网网址� Ross said in a recent interview.
But instead of walking into class, she decided to go home and study. B次元官网网址淭hat was minutes before the tragedy happened (and) by the time I got home, it was over.B次元官网网址�
Many of her friends were murdered that day, people who were her lifeline to the city, as she had just moved to Montreal from New Brunswick. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 stupid, but I did feel that I let them down because I wasnB次元官网网址檛 there for them even though itB次元官网网址檚 not rational at all.B次元官网网址�
In the aftermath, during events to honour the dead and the survivors, she felt like an intruder B次元官网网址� that the memories of the day didnB次元官网网址檛 belong to her. B次元官网网址淭hat was pretty difficult to go through.B次元官网网址�
She didnB次元官网网址檛 witness the violence but was deeply affected by it. And 35 years later, Ross, who also serves as the deputy vice-president of research at the institution, avoids certain parts of the school.
She imagines that many people are dealing with something similar B次元官网网址� struggling in silence.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e suffering, theyB次元官网网址檙e still hurting and that will be for the rest of their lives, so itB次元官网网址檚 a big, big hole.B次元官网网址�
The names of the 14 women who were killed that day are etched in the hearts and minds of Montrealers; many can recite their names from memory: Genevi猫ve Bergeron, H茅l猫ne Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Lagani猫re, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Mich猫le Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
One of RossB次元官网网址檚 classmates was Nathalie Provost.
Provost was shot four times in the attack and became a spokesperson for survivors and an advocate for stricter gun control laws, a fight that continues 35 years on. In an interview this week, Provost said she will be thinking on Friday about all the parents of students at the school that day in 1989, parents who likely went through hell and back. ProvostB次元官网网址檚 own mother died this year.
B次元官网网址淚 cannot imagine how awful that night must have been for all the families, for my mother who was expecting a call from me. And I also know that the possibility that something like Polytechnique, it can happen again,B次元官网网址� Provost said, tearing up.
B次元官网网址淚 think I will bear in my heart the memory of my mother and all the families who had to live that awful night.B次元官网网址�
Provost said she also takes solace in the fact that mental health B次元官网网址� post-traumatic stress and the stigma associated with mental illness B次元官网网址� is talked about much more than it was 35 years ago. B次元官网网址淚 needed help and I was really lucky because I got it B次元官网网址� but we are more and more kind about those who suffer from mental health issues,B次元官网网址� Provost said.
In 1991, Dec. 6 was proclaimed by the federal government as National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. But only more recently has the attack been defined as B次元官网网址渁nti-feminist.B次元官网网址�
Today, the term B次元官网网址渇emicideB次元官网网址� is used more frequently to describe the murder of women. Provost said the increased use of the word is a reflection of a society that is coming to terms with the high prevalence of gender-based violence.
B次元官网网址淲e are more and more able to name what things are B次元官网网址� we are now able to name the reality and to face the reality, and that was not the case 35 years ago.B次元官网网址�
For Ross, one of her goals is to increase the number of female engineers graduating in Canada. There isnB次元官网网址檛 a direct link between the 1989 tragedy and her mission, she said, but B次元官网网址渋f anything, it did reinforce this feeling that all doors should be open to everyone.B次元官网网址�
Ross said that in 1989 she was the only female student in her class, but never felt out of place. B次元官网网址淗owever, IB次元官网网址檝e grown to learn that itB次元官网网址檚 not the same for all girls.B次元官网网址�
At Polytechnique, 32 per cent of incoming students were women this semester. Ross said that number increases by half a percentage point every year. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 positive, but itB次元官网网址檚 fairly low, and at that rate, it will take a very long time before we reach what we call the parity zone,B次元官网网址� Ross said. In Quebec, 85 per cent of engineers are male, according to the provinceB次元官网网址檚 order of engineers, she added.
She questions who bears responsibility to change that. B次元官网网址淒oes it belong to women? Does it belong to girls? Does it belong to teachers? Does it belong to decision makers? And particularly, does it belong to men?B次元官网网址�
One young engineer is Makenna Kuzyk, the 10th recipient of the Order of the White Rose, the $50,000 scholarship awarded annually to a female engineering student in Canada who wishes to enrol in graduate studies in engineering anywhere in the world. Beginning in 2025, there are plans to expand the award, with an eventual goal of awarding 14 scholarships a year.
Kuzyk, 23, from Calgary, did her undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in mechanical engineering and will attend the International Test Pilots School, in London, Ont., starting next month for flight test engineering B次元官网网址� only the second civilian, and first woman, to do so.
In an interview, Kuzyk said that seeing a book about the massacre on the table of a relativeB次元官网网址檚 house B次元官网网址� many of the victims were the same age as her B次元官网网址� caught her attention.
B次元官网网址淚t really became kind of personal for me, I guess I really did feel connected to that story and it made me want to make a change because it hit really close to home,B次元官网网址� Kuzyk said.
B次元官网网址淭he motivation is to not let them be forgotten and to kind of carry their dreams is kind of what I want to do.B次元官网网址�
