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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Twenty-three years ago last Thursday, a lone gunman shot 28 women at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique, killing 14 before turning his gun on himself. In the eyes of the killer, the victims were all guilty of wrongdoings that he aimed to correct: they were all women working against gender stereotypes.

Sandra Lockhart addressed a crowd of about 85 people at the Salvation Army on Thursday during a vigil to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, in which 14 women were killed by a lone gunman at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

The world has changed since 1989, but women continue to struggle to be seen as equals to their male counterparts the world over and a disproportionate number of victims of violence continue to be female.

"The sad part is that it is our greatest example of violence towards women in Canada," said Karen Willy, a volunteer during the event. "We know these women were targeted because they were in engineering and (the gunman) thought they were taking seats away from him."

To mark this dark anniversary and to remember women closer to home who have died in recent years, about 85 people gathered at the Salvation Army in Yellowknife last Thursday. The vigil was hosted by the Status of Women Council of the NWT.

Executive director of the council, Lorraine Phaneuf, said the women's group would be remiss not to join the other Dec. 6 vigils across the country, adding it is an opportunity to raise awareness about Northern women who struggle against violence in their daily lives.

"We're a small jurisdiction but we need to get the message out there as much as possible. It's not just women in Montreal, it's women everywhere," she said.

Vigils have been taking place on Dec. 6 in Yellowknife for at least 10 years, said Phaneuf, but last week's turnout was the highest she has ever seen.

"More and more people are becoming more and more aware and that's good," said Kathy Menard, who as chief coroner for the NWT, is in a non-traditional field herself. "More voices speaking out can make a difference for all of our women who are in unfortunate circumstances."

Menard said she attends the vigil every year to remember victims of violence and hope for more equality in the future.

During the ceremony, 14 red roses were placed one by one in a vase at the front of the room. The name of each woman killed at the Ecole Polytechnique was read out, along with her occupation or field of study, and the age she would be if she was alive today. Many of the women killed in the Montreal Massacre by murderer Marc Lepine were engineering students.

Sandra Lockhart then placed a single white rose in the vase in memory of Northern women who have died since 2009. She also took a moment to remind everyone of the many missing aboriginal women in Canada, and the number of women in the North who deal with violence in their everyday lives.

"I was one of those women and I know there are a lot of women here tonight who have been one of those women who are unsure if their lives are going to be okay," said Lockhart. "It's cold out. We have shelters for women for a reason. There is still a lot of violence."

The only way violence towards women will stop is if society as a whole stands up and sends the message that it is unacceptable, said Lockhart.

Katrina Nokleby, an engineer who has been based in Yellowknife since 2006, gave a very candid speech about her struggles against sexism in her industry, telling story after story about being discriminated against in the field. She experienced discrimination by colleagues and sexual harassment in isolated drilling camps. She decided that the only way things would get better for her was if she stopped worrying about offending her mostly male colleagues and stood up for herself.

"If I didn't demand that I be treated with respect, who was going to do it for me?" she asked.

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