Vigil for victims of gender-based violence held in Kitchener
Personal stories of heartbreak and perseverance were shared at a vigil at Vogelsang Green in Kitchener to mark the 33rd anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal.
The vigil held on the anniversary of a tragedy that occurred 33 years ago at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, when 14 women were murdered.
“Through our Project Willow research at the YW we know that 94 percent of homeless women experience gender based violence on any given day in any variety of forms,” said Rachel Walser, an advocacy coordinator with YWCA Kitchener Waterloo.
On Tuesday, while the names of the women killed at Polytechnique were read aloud, organizers and speakers also asked for people in attendance to expand their thoughts to the many other women still facing violence in their daily lives.
A vigil against gender-based violence was held in Kitchener on Dec. 6. (Karis Mapp/CTV News)
“Being able to incorporate Indigenous people that have lost their lives due to violence – not just with the vigil for the December 6th tragedy but also just being able to incorporate them in the general of the statistics – ‘cause I feel like Indigenous women especially have not been properly identified in statistic-wise or gender-based violence or any sort of violence at all,” said Elianna Ellis, a student at the University of Waterloo
Messages of hope were written on stones and placed around a vase of roses as the assembled crowd called for a better future.
“You never think it will happen to you until it does. And it’s really hard to find these solutions that actually work in the area because – for myself I had a hard time finding resources,” said Mackenzie Janveaux, director of the University of Waterloo’s Indigenous Student Association
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.