The Massacre at École Polytechnique - 30 years later

By Wendi Winter 

Today marks the 30^th anniversary of one of the worst school shootings in Canadian history, the massacre at École Polytechnique. The victims were all women, selected from classes filled with their male counterparts, and killed because they dared to follow their dreams of graduating with degrees and becoming engineers. While not the first instance of gender-based violence against women, this incident is arguably one of the most well-known cases in Canadian history.

On December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered Montreal’s École Polytechnique with the intent to kill female students because “feminists” had ruined his life. After separating the males from the females, he shot the female students, murdering 14 and wounding 13. The victims: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Havernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St.-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz. Following this act of unnecessary, illogical violence, Lépine then committed suicide.

This massacre led to debates about strengthening gun laws to prevent further gun-violence which culminated in the implementation of Bill C-68, Canada’s federal firearms control legislation. These events also sparked discussions about the anti-feminist sentiment in Quebec and the ways that masculinity was threatened by the inclusion of females in colleges and universities. As a greater number of women were included in male-dominated environments, men felt discriminated against and that women did not deserve these new spaces. Because of the fragility of a hypermasculine ego, they saw the women as “taking their jobs,” as usurping their birth rights. 

Unfortunately, such a perception of women seems to remain in Canada. 

            This anniversary brings forward the question of what has changed in three decades. While there has been an increase in the discussion surrounding women’s rights and gender-based violence, the topics are still marginalized in our society. The number of women in the House of Commons may have increased, but it does not mean that women’s issues have become much of a priority. 

The Trudeau governments of 2015 and 2019 may have gender parity, but the distribution of power between the Cabinet members demonstrates more of a qualitative inequality. What’s more, during the Cabinet swearing, the Minister for Women and Gender Equity saw the file of Rural Economic Development added to her portfolio. Clearly having a woman represent and fight for women’s rights in such a high position is good, but it is disappointing that gender equity has been lumped in with rural economic concerns. It appears that gender equity and women’s issues and rights are not enough of a priority to require their own, dedicated representative. It is not a good signal when a Prime Minister who claims to be a feminist and marches in LGBTQ2 celebrations lumps gender concerns and unrelated economic issues together.

Once again, it is a huge disappointment. 

That being said, in 2017, in an attempt to address the continuation of gender-based violence in Canada, the Canadian government announced “It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence”. It is still too early to determine how effective this strategy will be. While having a national strategy is great, what is truly disheartening is how long it has taken for the government to acknowledge that Canada has a systemic problem that needs to be addressed. 

So in reality, what has changed since the attack in 1989? Not so much. Canadian women are still the targets of gender-based violence (e.g., the van attack in Toronto in 2017; the epidemics of murdered and missing indigenous women; sexual misconduct in the military; sexual assault on campuses…)  as are other minority groups (ex: LGBTQ2+ communities and visible minorities). 

While the Canadian government has made training and education programs for employees that facilitate a better understanding of gendered issues and perspectives (GBA+) mandatory, its application in policies needs to be improved. Additionally, the private sector, as well as non-governmental organizations are not required to go through a similar training. 

All in all, there is little visibility to what has been done to end gender-based violence.