The Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women will be holding its annual vigil at the Women’s Monument in Minto Park at Elgin and Gilmour streets Dec. 6 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre.
In 1989, a gunman entered the École Polytechnique in Montreal and killed 14 women.
“It’s a really important day to remember the lives of women lost in Montreal but also…women who were killed in Ottawa,” said OCTEVAW executive director Erin Leigh.
The event will start off with an Aboriginal drumming circle and feature guest speakers including Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi and spoken word artists.
Participants are invited to place lanterns at the foot of the Women’s Monument.
“It’s a big year, so we want to make sure there’s an actual presence,” Leigh said.
The event will mark the end of the coalition’s Shine the Light campaign, which aimed to involve community members and local businesses in ending violence against women.
Businesses on Elgin Street have displayed purple as part of the campaign to bring awareness to domestic violence and abuse.
The coalition will launch a new campaign called Tell 25, in which participants are asked to reach out to 25 people about ending gender-based violence.