Dec 7, 2024 – Jacqueline Gelineau/Penticton Western News

With white ribbons pinned to their jackets, UBC Okanagan students, staff and supporters placed white roses at the base of the Memorial Fire Bowl, located outside of the campus’ engineering building, in remembrance of the 14 women who were killed while attending University 35 years ago.

“Every December, our campus community comes together to honour the memory of the women killed in 1989 at Montreal’s École Polytechnique in a brutal act of femicide,” said Lesley Cormack PhD, deputy vice-chancellor of UBC Okanagan.

At the memorial event, Cormack spoke about how she was doing post-docturate research at a University in Ontario when she got a phone call from a friend, notifying her of the tragedy that had unfolded at an engineering class just a few hours away, in Montreal.

Cormack said that the targeted shooting of 14 women hit close to home and set her on a path toward creating a safe and welcoming space for all people to feel welcome in academia.

“While there is no place for violence against women in our society, there is absolutely a place for women in every profession and discipline, including engineering,” said Cormack.

Guest speaker Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and BC’s Minister of Infrastructure spoke about her own experiences as a female engineer navigating the misogynistic and patriarchal systems that persist in society and the workforce.

“1989 feels like a long, long time ago … It is easy for us to imagine that violence against women is a long-ago issue that doesn’t exist today,” said Ma, in an interview after the memorial ceremony.

“Even today, more than 1000 women in B.C. experience sexual or physical violence every single week. The risk of gender-based violence is even higher for Indigenous and racialized women and girls, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and those with disabilities,” said Ma.

In honour of the women who were killed on Dec. 6, 1989, and for all women who continue to experience gender-based violence, Ma is committed to promoting education, mentorship and support for women.

“There is a lot of value in mentorship and in seeing other women in leadership roles,” said Ma.

Read the full article at pentictonwesternnews.com.