Today is the 25th anniversary of an event you've probably never heard of: the Montreal Massacre. On December 6, 1989, 14 women were killed at the University of Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique by a gun-toting jackass who, you guessed it, then committed suicide.
Yep, it happened in the True North, and it really goes against the Canadian stereotype, doesn't it? But the gunman at the Ecole Polytechnique told his victims that he was "fighting feminism," because women were the source of all his problems, and he was going to do something about it. So he shot them.
For those of us who share citizenship with the likes of Aaron Alexis, James Holmes, Adam Lanza and Wade Page, it's almost comforting to know that other countries can have problems with mass shootings, too. (Don't forget that lovely man in Norway, who killed all those kids at a Workers' Youth League summer camp.)
But at the same time, it's discouraging to realize that even though Canada has no Second Amendment, there's a gun-nut lobby and a Conservative government that's willing to do its bidding. Sadly, Stephen Harper and his Tories continue to take pages from Wayne LaPierre's book — despite the October attack on Parliament and the death of a soldier guarding the War Memorial in Ottawa.
Can Canada wait until next fall's election to get rid of these Harper clowns and bring in a government that will legislate sensibly on gun control? Or will more Canadians have to die before that happens? We cats sincerely hope not. In the meantime, we remember the 14 women who were killed 25 years ago at the Ecole Polytechnique, and we HISS.
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