The slaughter of 14 women at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique by Marc Lépine on Dec. 6, 1989, shocked and disturbed the nation.

Memorials in Victoria and across Canada Sunday — the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women — remembered that painful day 20 years ago while urging further progress for the future.

“Twenty years later, we are still struggling for the elimination of violence against women in our society,” said Megumi Matsuo Saunders at the Victoria’s First Metropolitan United Church’s Service of Remembrance and Hope Sunday afternoon. “We need to convert our sadness into action.”

Archbishop Andrew Hutchinson spoke at the service, reflecting on the massacre, which took place while he served as dean of Montreal’s Anglican Church.

“Whatever else the Montreal Massacre was, it certainly was a targeted attack against women and it alarmed women everywhere.”

Hutchinson said that while everyone knows the name of the gunman, we tend to forget the name of the 14 young women who died at his hands.

During the service, their names were read out and 14 candles were lit.

Women’s activist Rose Henry lit a candle for First Nations women who have been victims of violence.

Henry said that by remembering all women who have been victims of violence, “we’re going beyond just the Montreal Massacre, going beyond [violence against] aboriginal women,” she said. “We’re realizing that this violence has to stop.”

Victoria resident Joy Smith, 51, was a part-time student at Camosun College when the largest mass murder in Canada’s history sent shock across the country.

“We were all just numb,” she recalls.

Smith said all women have experienced some form of violence, which is why the day holds significance for so many.

Dozens of people holding flickering pink lights gathered in front of the legislature at 5 p.m. last night, despite the cold and blowing wind.

University of Victoria student Tara Paterson, 20, was there with 10 other friends. Even though she was just a six months old when the massacre happened, it has shaped her strong views on violence against women.

“I think it’s significant that it’s called the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This [memorial] is one of those very actions. I think this represents a lot more for us than simply the Montreal Massacre, although that is important for us to remember every year.”

While the memorial sent a message of reflection, there was also a strong political message, with speakers urging the federal government to rethink its repeal of the long-gun registry.

“This is the start of a huge campaign to keep the gun registry in place so that all women can be protected,” Virginia Vaillancourt, chairwoman of the Victoria Regional Women’s Committee, told the crowd.

She cited data showing that applications by 6,000 people to own rifles were denied on the basis of previous violence, mental illness or a criminal record.

“If we get rid of the gun registry, those people may actually be able to get guns now.”

Vaillancourt said the gun registry was the product of years of fighting by the families of the victims, and to abolish it would be a major step backward.

Canada’s long-gun registry will be dismantled if a private-member’s bill introduced by a Conservative MP and supported by the party passes through the committee stage and further votes in the House of Commons. It cleared an important hurdle last month when he received second reading with the approval of a majority of MPs, including several New Democrats and Liberals.

kderosa@tc.canwest.com

The women who died on Dec. 6, 1989 were:

Geneviève Bergeron

Hélène Colgan

Nathalie Croteau

Barbara Daigneault

Anne-Marie Edward

Maud Haviernick

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

Maryse Laganiere

Maryse Leclair

Anne-Marie Lemay

Sonia Pelletier

Michele Richard

Annie St-Arneault

Annie Turcotte