Photo Credit: Unsplash/Nick Fewings

A sombre time of the year is approaching for Lakehead University, and for all Canadians.

December 6 marks the anniversary of the murders of 14 young women at Montreal's École Polytechnique in 1989.

Targeted in an act of misogynistic violence, the women ranged in age from 20 to 31.

Among the dead were nursing student Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz and Maryse Laganière, a polytechnique finance employee. The other 12 victims were engineering students.

This mass femicide, which became known as the "Montreal Massacre," led Canada to declare December 6 the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It's also known as White Ribbon Day.

The families and friends of the women still mourn their loved ones. We join together with them in solidarity, pledging to never forget the victims of this tragedy.

Every December 6, We Remember:

• Geneviève Bergeron, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 21
• Hélène Colgan, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 23
• Nathalie Croteau, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 23
• Barbara Daigneault, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 22
• Anne-Marie Edward, Chemical Engineering Student, aged 21
• Maud Haviernick, Metallurgical Engineering Student, aged 29
• Maryse Laganière, École Polytechnique Finance Employee, aged 25
• Maryse Leclair, Metallurgical Engineering Student, aged 23
• Anne-Marie Lemay, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 22
• Sonia Pelletier, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 28
• Michèle Richard, Metallurgical Engineering Student, aged 21
• Annie St-Arneault, Mechanical Engineering Student, aged 23
• Annie Turcotte, Metallurgical Engineering Student, aged 20
• Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Université de Montréal Nursing Student, aged 31

Engineering Students and Activists Grapple with a Devastating Legacy

"Things have changed for women in engineering," says Sana Sharif, a Lakehead electrical and computer engineering PhD student. "There's more acceptance, even since I began my studies.

But in 2025, we are still fighting because there is still violence. White Ribbon Day is a powerful reminder of the brilliant female engineering students whose lives were stolen. I'm standing on their shoulders."

What happened in 1989 led to debates and soul searching by a country in shock.

"It's ironic that it took this horrific mass casualty to spur Canadians to take serious steps to attempt to stop gender-based violence (GBV)," says Lakehead Health Sciences professor Dr. Helle Møller.

"Although policies and legislation to protect women existed in 1989, research evaluating their effectiveness largely hadn't been done. This was, and continues to be, reflected in the underreporting of gender-based violence."

The commemorative plaque on the southwest wall of École Polytechnique's Main Building (now renamed Polytechnique Montréal), which bears the school's coat of arms and the names of the 14 victims. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Bobanny

In partnership with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and Southeast Public Health, Dr. Møller and her fellow Lakehead researchers Oriana Rodriguez and Nana Nyarkoa-Oduro have spent the last year developing a framework to prevent gender-based violence.

The newly launched framework provides a foundation for public health units to address the root causes of gender-based violence, and take evidence-based action across different sectors.

"We've come a long way as a society when it comes to gender-based violence, but often we still don't act until it's too late," Dr. Møller says.

"This is evident from the refusal of the federal government, and most provincial governments, to declare GBV an epidemic, despite rising GBV stats in Canada. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has described violence directed at women and girls as 'the world's longest, deadliest pandemic.'"

At Lakehead, many other researchers are involved in crucial work to build a society that is safe for women and girls—including Gender and Women's Studies Professor Dr. Lori Chambers and Social Work Professors Dr. Angela Hovey, Dr. Susan Scott, and Dr. Jodie Murphy.

They are making important strides in understanding and overcoming gender-based violence, as are student researchers like Erika Puiras and Casey Oliver.

A New Generation Committed to Change

"When do revolutions start?" asks Parvinder Kaur. "Where does the spark come from, and how do we keep it alive to keep making our world a better place?"

As the coordinator of the Lakehead University Student Union Gender Equity Centre, ending gender-based violence is one of her goals.

"I am an international student and, according to my parents, I have always questioned inequality. Gender became a focus when I started volunteering as a crisis responder with Shamsaha."

Shamsaha is a non-profit in Bahrain that helps women facing domestic and sexual abuse.

I very quickly learnt that voice is a privilege, and what good would it be if I didn't use mine.

Parvinder now works to make Lakehead's campus a safer space for all students through initiatives like the recent Survivors Solidarity event hosted by Pride and Gender Equity Centre.

"I tried to connect students with the office of Human Rights and Equity on campus along with counselors for sexual and intimate partner violence from Thunder Bay Counselling," Parvinder says.

"Education is key, and so is remembering our history," she adds.

As the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre draws near, Lakehead University would like to pause and reflect on the lives of these young women, and to renew its commitment to ending gender-based violence.

"If we don't remind people of what happened on December 6, 1989, it will be forgotten," Dr. Møller says. "It's now more important than ever to continue fighting."

"There is no place for violence in our classrooms, our institutions, or our society," adds Sana Sharif. "We need women's ideas and their leadership."

Commemorate White Ribbon Day by:

• Observing a moment of silence at 11:00 am on December 6
• Wearing a white ribbon
• Donating to a local women's organization or to the White Ribbon campaign, the world's largest movement of men and boys working to end gender-based violence
• Participating in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence between November 25 to December 10
• Using the social media hashtags #Rememberthe14 and #16Days and following the LUSU Gender Equity Centre Instagram account @gec_lusu

Click here to learn more about the vibrant young women who died on December 6, 1989.

OVERVIEW:

• Dr. Rob Stewart leads the Freshwater Coastal Management Research Group and coordinates Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) along the Canadian north shore of Lake Superior
• Harbours along Lake Superior were heavily polluted as a result of mining and forestry operations and industrial development
• The work of RAPs, combined with government regulation, has made Lake Superior harbours safe for swimming and a source of drinking water
• Dr. Stewart, in collaboration with RAPs, is investigating emerging global threats to the health of Lake Superior
• Lakehead researchers are also working with Indigenous communities with the goal of restoring Lake Nipigon's ecosystem

"The best way to experience the magnificence of Lake Superior is to paddle to the last chain of islands before you hit open water," says Dr. Rob Stewart.

He's an associate professor of geography & the environment who feels most at home on the lake.

"It's amazing to be 10 km offshore in a kayak and have an otter pop up and hiss at you."

His career has been devoted to working with local communities to protect the watersheds and coastal environments of the Lake Superior Basin.

"Lake Superior is the headwater of all the Great Lakes, and its health determines the future of all the Great Lakes," he explains.

Dr. Stewart leads Lakehead's Freshwater Coastal Management Research Group and coordinates Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) along the Canadian north shore of Lake Superior.

"We identify environmental problems, monitor them, and then work on lake restoration," he says.

Through the determination of communities and researchers, there's been great success in removing pollutants from Lake Superior.

"When I was growing up, places like Thunder Bay, Nipigon, and Red Rock had working harbours.

There was foam, oil, and tree bark floating on the water because industries like pulp mills and mines would discharge effluents directly into the lake.

Today, you can swim in these harbours and use them for drinking water because of intense government regulation and the clean-up efforts of RAP groups."

Community members belonging to the Jackfish Bay Area of Concern RAP discuss next steps to deal with legacy contaminants discharged into Lake Superior by the Terrace Bay Pulp and Paper Mill. "Remedial Action Plan groups try to reduce conflict between communities and governments over problems that can't be immediately resolved," Dr. Stewart says.

Now, Lake Superior RAPs are equally concerned with emerging threats to the lake that don't have simple solutions and that require cooperation between countries.

"We're investigating how to deal with invasive species, airborne mercury travelling from China and India, and climate change—Lake Superior is the fastest warming Great Lake."

Uncovering the Story of Lake Nipigon

Dr. Stewart's research extends beyond Lake Superior.

He's excited to be working with Indigenous communities in the Lake Nipigon area to trace the history of this freshwater lake and how it's changed over the past 200 years.

"Lake Nipigon was intensely developed in the 1940s. Large forestry and mining operations were set up near the lake's shoreline.

The provincial government also built a hydroelectric dam that diverted massive amounts of water from the Arctic watershed into Lake Nipigon. This changed the lake's ecosystem dramatically."

Above, the Nipigon Guardians Team (researchers from Lakehead, York University, and Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek First Nation) collect sediment core samples. "We want to empower Indigenous communities with data to verify what they've been saying all along about the negative effects of hydro dams on Lake Nipigon."

The high levels of silt and nutrients in the Arctic Watershed were too much for a freshwater body like Lake Nipigon to absorb.

"The silt covered up fish spawning grounds, and the overabundance of nutrients created toxic algae blooms. The dam also caused erosion and raised the level of the lake, which released more sediment and nutrients."

Until recently, Indigenous people were forced to stand by and see their lake degraded because they had no say over how it was developed.

"Now, First Nations want the full story of the lake's changes backed up with scientific data," Dr. Stewart says. "Our 'Lake Nipigon Cumulative Impacts Partnership' will help provide this information."

Dr. Stewart's Freshwater Coastal Management Research Group has built landscape features to filter stormwater before it reaches Lake Superior. They've also restored riverbanks and coastal habitats for fish and wildlife. For instance, constructing a new channel for fish to swim through (see above).

His research team is doing this by tracking the movement of fish in the lake and by taking sediment samples from the lake floor.

"We'll analyze the sediment to determine the nutrients, plants, aquatic life, and toxins present in Lake Nipigon at different time periods."

After all the evidence is gathered, communities will pinpoint areas of Lake Nipigon where the environment has been adversely affected by development and by pollution, such as arsenic contamination from mills. Then, they'll advocate to have them restored.

"They want to build healthy communities with clean water and land for their youth," Dr. Stewart says.

Save Our Remarkable Lakes

Current projects being led by North Shore of Lake Superior RAPs include shoreline naturalization and monitoring beaches closed because of high E.coli levels. "We also watch for new technology that may help with future lake restoration efforts," Dr. Stewart says.

He encourages local citizens to get involved in sustaining our region's waterways by joining an environmental community group or by becoming a member of one of the north shore's Remedial Action Plan groups.

"The number-one thing, though, is to connect with our lakes in your own way. Go for a canoe ride with a friend, take your kids fishing, or walk along one of the beaches."

Dr. Stewart's Lake Nipigon Cumulative Impacts Partnership research is funded by an NSERC Alliance Grant, the Indigenous Guardians Network, the First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program (Health Canada), and by Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek. He has received funding for his Lake Superior research initiatives from the Great Lakes Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative, which is part of the Government of Canada's Freshwater Action Plan.