“Today we remember those women whose lives were taken in an act of hatred and misogyny,” Viviane Yargeau told those gathered for McGill University’s annual École Polytechnique memorial ceremony, held Friday, “We must remember them, and their legacy should shape us. I know their legacy endures through the determination and brilliance of our female students.”
Yargeau is McGill’s first female dean of engineering, She was a student on Dec. 6, 1989, as was Vice-President (Research & Innovation) Dominique Bérubé. Both have spent the past 36 years honouring the 14 women killed by building their careers and confronting the barriers that once kept women out of the field.
Bérubé experienced the horrors of that day first-hand. She was there. As she remembered the two friends she lost, Maryse Leclair and Maud Haviernick, her voice broke and she paused to steady herself.
Yargeau stepped forward and placed a hand on Bérubé’s shoulder, standing beside her in quiet support. Bérubé regained her composure and continued.
“Every year is difficult,” Bérubé told attendees, saying that she had remained silent for 34 years – until relating her experience publicly for the first time at last year’s ceremony – because “the emotions were so hard to manage.”
Enduring impact
The ceremony, held in front of the University Centre on McTavish Street, opened with remarks from Fabrice Lebeau, Vice-President of Administration and Finance. He noted that the attack targeted the victims “because they were women” who “dared to pursue an education in engineering.”
He urged continued action against gender-based violence and highlighted ongoing inequities, including the disproportionate victimization of Indigenous women and rising hate crimes against 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
Emotions ran high throughout the ceremony. Even 36 years later, the tragedy remains profoundly personal.
“I had just started as a professor at Université de Montréal, a sister institution of École Polytechnique. I was on my way home when the news broke,” said McGill Principal Deep Saini, pausing several times to collect himself.
“As an educator and a parent of two daughters, it is a tragedy that continues to touch me deeply.”
New generation
Speakers highlighted the presence of 14 McGill engineering students who are members of Promoting Opportunities for Women in Engineering (POWE). The student-led organization was founded in 1990 in response to the Polytechnique killings and is dedicated to promoting gender diversity in engineering and supporting future engineers.
One by one, each student offered a brief tribute to one of the 14 women who were killed before laying a white rose at the foot of the memorial plaque.
Addressing the POWE students directly, Yargeau said: “I’m really proud. Your leadership is inspiring to us all.”
The sentiment was echoed by Saini.
“Your courage and your voices matter deeply,” he said. “Year after year, students like you help ensure the memory of those 14 bright women endures and that their legacy inspires continued reflection and action.”
In memory of:
- Geneviève Bergeron
- Hélène Colgan
- Nathalie Croteau
- Barbara Daigneault
- Anne-Marie Edward
- Maud Haviernick
- Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
- Maryse Laganière
- Maryse Leclair
- Anne-Marie Lemay
- Sonia Pelletier
- Michèle Richard
- Annie St-Arneault
- Annie Turcotte
