On December 6, 1989, an armed man walked into École Polytechnique in Montreal. He separated men from women then open fire, killing 14 women and injuring 14 others. He claimed that he was “fighting feminism.”
In 1991, December 6th was established by the Parliament of Canada as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, as this day marks the anniversary of the murders at École Polytechnique.
Every year, engineering students pay their respects in a variety of ways. On UBC’s Okanagan campus, School of Engineering students paint the Engineering ‘E’ white in remembrance of those who lost their lives, and inspirational inscriptions and quotes are added. They also wear white ribbons during the week of November 27th, and gather to watch the movie “Polytechnique,” a film documenting the evenings of December 6, 1989.