May we never forget

There were 14 women murdered in the Montreal Massacre on December 6th, 1989, simply because they aspired to work in a male-dominated profession:

Genevieve Bergeron, 21, was a second year scholarship student in mechanical engineering.

Nathalie Croteau, 23, was in her final year of mechanical engineering.

Helene Colgan, 23, was in her final year of mechanical engineering and planned to take her master's degree.

Barbara Daigneault, 22, was in her final year of mechanical engineering and held a teaching assistantship.

Anne-Marie Edward, 21, was a first year student in chemical engineering.

Maud Haviernick, 29, was a 2nd year student in engineering materials, and a graduate in environmental design.

Barbara Maria Klucznik, 31, was a 2nd year engineering student specializing in engineering materials.

Maryse Laganiere, 25, worked in the budget department of the Polytechnique.

Maryse Leclair, 23, was a 4th year student in engineering materials.

Anne-Marie Lemay, 27, was a 4th year student in mechanical engineering.

Sonia Pelletier, 28, was to graduate the next day in mechanical engineering. She was awarded a degree posthumously.

Michele Richard, 21, was a 2nd year student in engineering materials.

Annie St-Arneault, 23, was a mechanical engineering student.

Annie Turcotte, 21, was a first year student in engineering materials

I'm grateful for their legacy - a new determination to end all forms of violence against women - but I'm also sad that so little has changed in the 22 years since.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2009 women made up only 22.3% of those working in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering and 6.4% of those working in trades in Canada. And, of course, violence against women remains a huge problem here as it does elsewhere. At special risk are aboriginal women.

There is some good news. Today, more men and boys are prepared to speak out on issues of violence against women, initiatives like the White Ribbon Campaign raise awareness of the issues and encourage men to get involved and we now have a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

Still, we must never forget those 14 young women, and what their deaths taught us about the work that remained and still remains to be done.