December 6, 2018 marked 29 years since the mass murder of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal and to mark the anniversary a vigil was held at Coulter Parkette in downtown Port Elgin. Vice-Deputy Mayor Mike Myatt read a name of one of the 14 victims. To his left, Pat O’Connor, Leslie Turcotte, and Councillor Jami Smith followed with more victims.
Hub Staff
A vigil was held for the 14 victims of the 1989 Montreal Massacre December 6 in Saugeen Shores.
The ceremony took place in Coulter Parkette in downtown Port Elgin to 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, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz who were murdered at Montreal's École Polytechnique because they were women.
The annual vigil is hosted by the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Southport chapter and this year they remembered another name, that of Maisy Odjick, a former resident of the Saugeen First Nation who disappeared 10 years ago this past September at the age of 16.
Maisy’s grandfather, SFN Elder Vernon Roote, spoke at the vigil. He remarked on Maisy’s spirit and told the crowd that his granddaughter was a happy girl and that the last time he visited with her she was excited about going back to high school.
Roote said they still celebrate her spirit and that Maisy is still with them. “Her spirit is so vital and important to everyone and if it weren't for the spirit I don’t think I would have made it through," he said. Roote condemned cruel human behaviour and said it was “unfortunate” that humankind is the way that it is.
Speaking to the facts of human behaviour was Kim Wildeman of Victim Services Grey Bruce Perth who read aloud statistics of calls their organization had received over the last year.
Of the total 1609 calls received in Bruce, Grey and Perth counties, 878 had a female victim, 292 involved a child and 439 involved a male victim. “If you add up the women and children, that’s well over half of the victims that we served,” she said, adding that of those 265 were domestic violence calls, five were human trafficking calls, and 40 were sexual assault calls.
"Human trafficking is something that we’ve become more aware of," said Wildeman and added that of the calls they received from Saugeen Shores, half of them were because of domestic violence situations.
Youth played a vital role in the 2018 vigil as Saugeen District Secondary School (SDSS) art students created promotional posters for the event and drama students performed a poem titled “EXES” by Jessica Romoff and Mila Cuda, which acted out forms of abuse in relationships in the modern age.
Following the dramatic performance, a somber reading took place that named each of the 14 women along with a brief summary of their lives that were cut short in 1989 in an act of gender based violence, something that occurred as recently as April 23 in North York, Toronto, where victims were hit by a rental van resulting in 10 deaths and 16 injuries.
To end the vigil the Chantry Singers sang “Let There be Peace on Earth” while many audience members held Maisy Odjick's missing poster.
Heather Conlin, Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Southport, with opening remarks.
Drama students from Saugeen District Secondary School performed “EXES” at the December 6 vigil. From left, Jacob Kleingeld, Alyssa Garrod, Jadzia Leask, Mickayla Spray, Patrick Fenton, and Mikhayla Messer.
Saugeen First Nation Elder Vernon Roote, the grandfather of Maisy Odjick who went missing 10 years ago, spoke at the vigil.
Members of the Chantry Singers sang “Let There be Peace on Earth” December 6.
Below, a portion from the performance of "EXES" by SDSS drama students at the CFUW vigil held in Coulter Parkette December 6.
