Women's shelter executive director Natasha Carvalho speaks to a group of Hatters last year at Medicine Hat College.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
The Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society is remembering the Ecole Polytechnique massacre this weekend and is inviting the community to join.
The shelter usually holds a large gathering at the college that features multiple speakers and a moment of silence for the 14 victims of the shooting. Due to the pandemic, the vigil will be held online.
The service will still be held at Medicine Hat College, but it will have an in-person capacity of 10. Members of the community not there can view it on the MHWSS Facebook page. It begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
“We knew we wanted to do something to honour the day, but with all of the restrictions we knew we had to go virtual for this,” said shelter executive director Natasha Carvalho. “We’re going to be out front of the main doors at the college and people are able to come, but we’re asking that they respect physical distancing guidelines.
“We’re hoping that people are able to come out and join us who may not usually be able to.”
The event will be more condensed than usual, but will still bring justice to the day, says Carvalho.
“We’re going to have our moment of silence and read the names out for sure,” she said. “I’m going to say a few words about the day and why it’s significant.
“We’re also going to be paying tribute to the people killed in April in Portapique, Nova Scotia.”
A temporary vigil will be set up along Sunrise Rotary Trail near Medicine Hat College with photos and names of victims from the Montreal Massacre.
The shooting took place 31 years ago and took the life of 14 women. There were 14 other people injured.
“These women were targeted and killed for being women,” said Carvalho. “We’re still talking about this shooting because violence against women isn’t slowing down.
“Family violence is still reality for many people out there.”
