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Remembering the Montreal Massacre 30 years later

On this day in 1989, the worst mass shooting in Canadian history took place. The 14 Montreal Massacre victims at École Polytechnique were all young women — 13 engineering students and one university employee. But for years, there was reluctance among some in Quebec to see what happened as more than an isolated act of a troubled man, and to come to terms with what was so clear: that women and feminists were targeted. Learn more about the victims here. The City of Montreal wanted to make sure that reality was tangibly reflected on the 30th anniversary. Yesterday, a new sign was dedicated at the Place-du-6-décembre-1989, a memorial park near the university campus, that specifically refers to the killings as an "anti-feminist attack" rather than simply a "tragic event" as it previously did. "It's an important step in making sure that we remember why this happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again," the brother of one of the victims says. Read more about how the way the shooting is remembered has changed here. Other female engineering students of the same generation were also affected by the shooting. That's led to the creation of the 30 Years Later project, which profiles 30 women who graduated in engineering within three years of the massacre. In addition to their engineering feats, these women also went on to pursue careers ranging from astronaut and governor general (like Julie Payette), to vice-president of a major Canadian bank. It's a reminder of what Canadian women contribute as engineers and what the victims of the shooting never had a chance to do. Read more about the initiative here. There is also growing pressure on the Trudeau government to follow through on its campaign commitment for tighter gun control. The prime minister committed during the election campaign to ban semi-automatic assault weapons and pledged to enable municipalities to restrict or prohibit handguns, but didn't commit to an outright ban. Despite questions as to whether a ban would have the desired effect, gun control advocates have been pressing for changes ahead of the Polytechnique anniversary. Read more about the issue of gun control in Canada here. In what has become an annual tradition, 14 beams of light — one for each of the women — will illuminate the top of Mount Royal tonight. This year, 14 institutions, from Dalhousie University in Halifax to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, are also taking part. The names of each of the women will be said aloud, starting at 5:10 p.m. ET, the exact time the first shots were fired on Dec. 6, 1989. Thousands of people are expected to attend the ceremony in Montreal, including the families of the victims, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier François Legault and Mayor Valérie Plante. Read more about today's ceremony here.

'O lobster tree, o lobster tree, how lovely are your cages...'

A Christmas tree in Tignish, P.E.I., that was built entirely of lobster traps is proving to be a tourism draw, according to Mayor Allan McInnis. Tignish built a tree out of lobster traps last year as well. It was meant to honour all fishermen, but was prompted by the tragic deaths of two local fishermen. While the objective of paying tribute to fishermen remains the same, the town's mayor says the attraction also benefits restaurants, general stores and gas stations in the area. Read more about the unique tree and how it's resonated with Islanders and tourists here.

In brief

U.S. House Democrats moved aggressively to draw up formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump yesterday. "The president has engaged in abuse of power, undermining our national security and jeopardizing the integrity of our elections," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Drafting articles of impeachment is a milestone moment, only the fourth time in U.S. history Congress has tried to remove a president, and it intensifies the rigid and polarizing partisanship of the Trump era that is consuming Washington and dividing the nation. Read more about what's likely to come next here. The need for a "clean environment" merited its own section in Thursday's throne speech. The latest federal election demonstrated that climate change now defines the gulf between the political left in Canada (who are very eager to act to reduce this country's emissions) and the right (who are not), making it a political imperative for Justin Trudeau as well as a moral one. However, "the environment" still only ran third among the government's broad areas of concern, behind "growth for the middle class" and "open and transparent government." Read more about the challenges facing the Liberal government here. Many communities along Lake Erie are dealing with record-high water levels and significant shoreline erosion, forcing some to consider abandoning their properties. The cost of protecting private lakefront property falls on individual owners, who are expected to get a work permit from the Ontario government or local conservation authorities to make repairs to eroded shorelines. While the province said it recently streamlined the process, some homeowners want the government to take action to ease the erosion itself. Read more about what one scientist described as a "battle versus nature" here. Electric and hybrid vehicles are gaining traction in the car market, but what about hydrogen-powered cars? They produce zero emissions and don't need charging, as owners can just drive up to a station and refill their tanks as they do with a gasoline-powered vehicle. But the lack of hydrogen refuelling stations is part of the reason they aren't as prevalent in Canada, one expert says. "The only place you can buy or lease a fuel cell vehicle is where the refuelling infrastructure is available," says Brant Peppley, a professor in the chemical engineering department at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. Read more from the What on Earth? newsletter here. France is facing a second day of travel chaos, shuttered schools and understaffed hospitals as unions say there would be no let-up in a strike against pension reforms. President Emmanuel Macron wants to simplify France's unwieldy pension system, which he called unfair and too costly. But powerful unions say he is set on dismantling worker protections and vow not to let up until Macron backed down. Much of France ground to a halt yesterday, while smoke and tear gas swirled through the streets of Paris as some protests turned violent. Get the latest updates on the French strike here. Now here's some good news to start your Friday: A social media app geared toward the outdoor lives of Inuit launched this week, with features that tie traditional knowledge to smartphone technology. The Siku app and web platform, named after the Inuktitut word for sea ice, allows users to trade observations about dangerous conditions, document wildlife sightings and trade hunting stories. The executive director of the Arctic Eider Society, a charity that assembled the app's developers, says the project was born from a desire by Inuit elders to document and share oral history with young people. Read more about the app here.

Today in history: December 6

1752: A government pamphlet in Halifax becomes the first book published in Canada. 1907: The first recorded flight in Canada takes place when Thomas Selfridge rises about 51 metres into the air in a kite designed by Alexander Graham Bell. 1917: Much of Halifax is destroyed after the French munitions ship Mont Blanc explodes in Halifax harbour. More than 1,800 people die and 9,000 are injured in the explosion, which occurred after the Norwegian relief ship Imo, running relief missions to Belgium, collided with the Mont Blanc, which was carrying a cargo of some 2,250 tonnes of explosives. Property damage was estimated at $35 million, with windows shattered as far as 100 kilometres away in Truro, N.S. 1921: Agnes Macphail, a 30-year-old teacher, becomes Canada's first female member of Parliament. 2001: Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson changes Newfoundland to Newfoundland and Labrador by proclaiming an amendment to the Constitution.