Virtual gatherings will be held in place of an in-person vigil on Sunday, Dec. 6 to honour the lives of 14 women killed in one of Canada’s deadliest massacres.
Sunshine Coast Labour Council VP Miyuki Shinkai said the union chapter won’t be hosting the annual event, typically held at Dougall Park in Gibsons.
Instead, the Labour Council is recommending people attend public online events, including one hosted by the B.C. chapter of the Public Service Alliance of Canada this Sunday starting at 5 p.m.
As well, Alberta Federation of Labour will be hosting a vigil from noon to 1 p.m., which will incorporate a spoken word performance and words from researcher Shiva Nourpanah.
The Ontario Federation of Labour is also hosting a public “virtual candlelight vigil” from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women memorializes the deadly shooting of 14 women at Polytechnique Montréal on Dec. 6, 1989. Ten other staff and students were wounded in the attack.
Gender-based violence has been “magnified and amplified” in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the federal government’s Department for Women and Gender Equality. Its website says “there have been reports from police services, shelters and local organization of an increase in calls related to gender-based violence across Canada during the pandemic.”
For instance, between April and May 2020, B.C.’s Battered Women’s Support Services hotline saw a 400 per cent increase in calls, with 40 per cent of them involving women in isolation with their abuser, according to the federal department.
The memorial for the Montreal massacre victims falls within an annual global action called 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10.
People who wish to register for online events can do so by following links on the Sunshine Coast Labour Council Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Sunshine-Coast-Labour-Council-410283986212595/
