Editing École Polytechnique massacre (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:6decembre.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Place du 6-Décembre-1989 (December 6, 1989 Place), Montreal, featuring the artwork ''Nef pour quatorze reines'' (''Nave for Fourteen Queens'') by Rose-Marie Goulet|alt= a long straight walk down the middle of a narrow park is bordered on both sides by trees and roads. At intervals along each side of the path, are series of waist-high boxes]]

The injured and witnesses among university staff and students suffered a variety of physical, social, existential, financial, and psychological consequences, including [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD). At least two students died by suicide afterward, and left notes confirming that their deaths were due to distress caused by the massacre.<ref name="jidv">{{cite journal| last1 =Parent| first1 =G| last2 =Cousineau|first2= M| title =Conséquences à long terme d'un ''mass murder'': le cas de Polytechnique, neuf ans plus tard| journal =The International Journal of Victimology| volume =1| issue =3| year =2003| url =http://www.jidv.com/njidv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=189:consequences-a-long-terme-dun-mass-murder-le-cas-de-polytechnique-neuf-ans-plus-tard&catid=109:jidv03&Itemid=391| access-date =December 29, 2006| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090212182223/http://www.jidv.com/njidv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=189%3Aconsequences-a-long-terme-dun-mass-murder-le-cas-de-polytechnique-neuf-ans-plus-tard&catid=109%3Ajidv03&Itemid=391| archive-date =February 12, 2009| df =mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Boileau|first=Josée|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT104|title=Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre|publisher=Second Story Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1-77260-143-5|pages=99–101|language=en|access-date=January 10, 2022|archive-date=August 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822011619/https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT104|url-status=live}}</ref> Nine years after the event, survivors reported still being affected by their experiences, though some of the effects had lessened.<ref name="jidv" />

===Actions against violence against women===
The massacre galvanized the Canadian women's movement, who immediately saw it as a symbol of [[violence against women]]. "The death of those young women would not be in vain, we promised", Canadian feminist [[Judy Rebick]] recalled. "We would turn our mourning into organizing to put an end to male violence against women."<ref>{{cite news|last=Rebick|first=Judy|date=December 6, 2000|title=Where's the funding for abused women?|publisher=[[CBC News]]|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/columns/rebick/rebick001206.html|access-date=March 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321225539/http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/columns/rebick/rebick001206.html|archive-date=March 21, 2007}}</ref>

In response to the killings, a House of Commons Sub-Committee on the Status of Women was created. It released a report "The War against Women" in June 1991, which was not endorsed by the full standing committee.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vienneau|first=David|date=January 19, 1991|title=Probe on violence toward women blocked|page=A4|work=[[Toronto Star]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hooks|first1=Tess|title=Female well-being: toward a global theory of social change|last2=LeClerc|first2=Patrice|last3=Beaujot|first3=Roderic|publisher=[[Zed Books]]|year=2005|isbn=978-1-84277-009-2|editor1=Mancini Billson, Janet|pages=102–103|chapter=Women in Canada: a century of struggle|access-date=September 20, 2020|editor2=Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_2eWZK63_8C&pg=PA102|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815172830/https://books.google.com/books?id=a_2eWZK63_8C&pg=PA102|archive-date=August 15, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> But, following its recommendations, the federal government established the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women in August 1991. The panel issued a final report, ''Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality'', in June 1993. The panel proposed a two-pronged "National Action Plan" consisting of an "Equality Action Plan" and a "Zero Tolerance Policy" designed to increase women's equality and reduce violence against women through government policy. Critics of the panel said that the plan failed to provide a workable timeline and strategy for implementation and that with more than four hundred recommendations, the final report was too diffuse to make an impact.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harder|first=Sandra|title=Violence against women: the Canadian Panel's final report|url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/MR/mr122-e.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312061539/http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/MR/mr122-e.htm|archive-date=March 12, 2012|access-date=February 3, 2007|publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book|last=Boileau|first=Josée|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT114|title=Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre|publisher=Second Story Press|year=2000|isbn=978-1-77260-143-5|pages=109–112|language=en|access-date=January 30, 2022|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130154446/https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT114|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Québec, family members of the victims formed a foundation to support organizations combatting violence, particularly violence against women. It has continued throughout all levels of society.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":3" /> Survivors and their relatives have continued to speak about the issue.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lowrie|first=Morgan|date=5 December 2021|title=Polytechnique anniversary comes as Quebec mourns spate of domestic violence killings|publisher=[[CBC News]]|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/polytechnique-anniversary-quebec-domestic-violence-1.6274178|access-date=30 January 2022|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130154446/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/polytechnique-anniversary-quebec-domestic-violence-1.6274178|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Giguère|first=Frédérique|date=6 December 2021|title="Encore du travail à faire" 32 ans après Polytechnique|work=[[Journal de Montréal]]|url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/12/06/encore-du-travail-a-faire-32-ans-apres-polytechnique|access-date=30 January 2022|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130154448/https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/12/06/encore-du-travail-a-faire-32-ans-apres-polytechnique|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Senior|first1=Paulette|last2=Provost|first2=Nathalie|last3=Rathjen|first3=Heidi|last4=Martin|first4=Lise|last5=Cukier|first5=Wendy|title=Thirty years after the Montreal Massacre, we're still in limbo|language=en|work=[[Toronto Star]]|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/12/05/thirty-years-after-the-montreal-massacre-were-still-in-limbo.html|access-date=2022-02-07|archive-date=February 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207032210/https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/12/05/thirty-years-after-the-montreal-massacre-were-still-in-limbo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Researchers increased their study of family violence and violence against women.<ref name=":15" /> On December 6, 1995, the Quebec government adopted the "Policy on Intervention in Conjugal Violence" with the goal of detecting, preventing and ending [[domestic violence]].<ref name=":15" />

===Gun control===
{{Further|Gun politics in Canada}}

The massacre was a major spur for the Canadian gun control movement.<ref name="Dec6">{{cite book| last1 =Rathjen| first1 =Heidi| first2 =Charles |last2=Montpetit| title =December 6: From the Montreal Massacre to Gun Control| publisher =McClelland & Stewart| year =1999| location =Toronto| isbn =0-7710-6125-0| url-access =registration| url =https://archive.org/details/december6frommon0000rath}}</ref> Less than a week after the event, two École Polytechnique professors created a petition addressed to the Canadian government demanding tighter gun control; and more than half a million signatures were collected.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Boileau|first=Josée|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&q=en|title=Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre|date=2020|publisher=Second Story Press|isbn=978-1-77260-143-5|pages=139|language=en|access-date=January 19, 2022|archive-date=August 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822011618/https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&q=en|url-status=live}}</ref> Heidi Rathjen, a student who was in one of the classrooms that Lépine skipped, organized the Coalition for Gun Control with Wendy Cukier to pressure for a gun registry and increased firearm regulation.<ref name="Dec6" /><ref name=":7"/> Suzanne Laplante-Edward and Jim Edward, parents of one of the victims, were also deeply involved.<ref>{{cite news | last =Boyd| first =Denny| title =Couple salvages purpose from their daughter's tragic death|page =B1|work=[[Vancouver Sun]] | date = April 20, 1992}}</ref> 

Their activities, along with others, led to the passage of Bill C-17 in 1992, and C-68, commonly known as the ''[[Firearms Act, 1995|Firearms Act]]'', in 1995, ushering in stricter gun control regulations.<ref name="Dec6" /> These new regulations included requirements on the training of gun owners, [[background check|screening]] of firearm applicants, a 28-day waiting period on new applicants, rules concerning safe firearm and ammunition storage, the [[Canadian Firearms Registry|registration of all firearms]], magazine capacity limits to 5 rounds for [[Semi-automatic rifle|semi automatic rifles]] and 10 rounds for [[semi-automatic pistols]], and reclassifying some additional firearms as restricted or prohibited. In 2009, survivors of the massacre, their families, and Polytechnique students past and present came together to create [[PolySeSouvient]] in opposition to legislative actions by [[Stephen Harper]]'s [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] government aimed at ending the registration of ordinary long guns.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boileau|first=Josée|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&q=PT150|title=Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre|date=2020|publisher=Second Story Press|isbn=978-1-77260-143-5|pages=140|language=en|access-date=January 19, 2022|archive-date=August 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822011623/https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&q=PT150|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Delacourt |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/734816--long-gun-registry-politics-taint-service-for-the-victims |title=Long-gun registry politics taint service for the victims |work=[[Toronto Star]] |access-date=December 6, 2009 |date=December 5, 2009 |archive-date=December 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208110609/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/734816--long-gun-registry-politics-taint-service-for-the-victims |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/864488--a-mother-s-battle-to-save-the-long-gun-registry|title=A mother's battle to save the long-gun registry|work=[[Toronto Star]]|last=Fedio|first=Chloe|access-date=November 6, 2010|date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924074508/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/864488--a-mother-s-battle-to-save-the-long-gun-registry|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Ingrid|last=Peritz|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-slap-in-the-face-for-victims/article1390008/|title='A slap in the face' for victims|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|location=Canada|access-date=December 6, 2009|date=December 6, 2009|archive-date=December 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208012058/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-slap-in-the-face-for-victims/article1390008/|url-status=live}}</ref> The long-gun registry was abolished by the Harper government in April 2012,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/05/long-gun-registry-end-celebrated-by-harper-tories/ |title=Long-gun registry end to be celebrated by Tories as fury mounts in Quebec |work=[[National Post]] |date=April 5, 2012 |access-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-date=October 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20211013164909/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Boileau|first=Josée|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&q=PT151|title=Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre|date=2020|publisher=Second Story Press|isbn=978-1-77260-143-5|pages=141|language=en|access-date=January 19, 2022|archive-date=August 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822011622/https://books.google.com/books?id=aHwpEAAAQBAJ&q=PT151|url-status=live}}</ref> but the Quebec government won a temporary injunction, preventing the destruction of the province's gun registry data, and ordering the continued registration of long guns in Quebec.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/21/quebec-court-backs-gun-registry-sets-stage-for-federal-legal-battle/ |title=Quebec court backs long-gun registry, sets stage for federal legal battle |first=Sue |last=Montgomery |work=[[National Post]] |date=April 21, 2012 |access-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-date=October 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20211013164909/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8"/> In March 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against Quebec, allowing the destruction of all the federal registry data,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2015/2015scc14/2015scc14.html|title=CanLII – 2015 SCC 14 (CanLII)|publisher=[[CanLII]]|access-date=December 18, 2015|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311225101/https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2015/2015scc14/2015scc14.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":8"/> although Quebec created its own provincial gun registry to replace it.<ref name=":8"/> Since its creation, PolySeSouvient, with survivors Nathalie Provost and Heidi Rathjen as spokespersons, has continued to be active in lobbying for stricter gun control and safety in Quebec and Canada. In 2018 [[Justin Trudeau]]'s [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] government introduced Bill C-71, which restored the requirement for sales of firearms to be registered,<ref name=":8"/> but PolySeSouvient denounced the proposed regulations as ineffective and incomplete. In 2020, in the wake of the [[2020 Nova Scotia attacks|mass killing in Nova Scotia]], and while also citing the École Polytechnique massacre, Trudeau announced a ban on around 1,500 models of "military-grade [[assault-style weapons]]", including the [[Ruger Mini-14]] used for the killings in Montreal.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Walsh|first1=Marieke|last2=Curry|first2=Bill|last3=Stone|first3=Laura|date=2021-09-03|title=Conservatives would repeal ban on guns used in École Polytechnique, Nova Scotia mass shootings|language=en-CA|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-conservatives-would-repeal-ban-on-guns-used-in-ecole-polytechnique/|access-date=2022-01-12|archive-date=January 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112032512/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-conservatives-would-repeal-ban-on-guns-used-in-ecole-polytechnique/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Justin Trudeau announces federal ban on assault-style firearms in Canada|url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/justin-trudeau-announces-federal-ban-on-military-grade-assault-weapons-in-canada-full-transcript/|url-status=live|website=Macleans|archivedate=May 3, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503030318/https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/justin-trudeau-announces-federal-ban-on-military-grade-assault-weapons-in-canada-full-transcript/ |date=2020-05-01 |access-date=2022-02-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bronskill|first=Jim|date=2020-05-01|title=Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 types of 'military-style' guns|url=https://www.cp24.com/news/trudeau-announces-ban-on-1-500-types-of-military-style-guns-1.4920606|access-date=2022-01-12|website=CP24|language=en|archive-date=January 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112032514/https://www.cp24.com/news/trudeau-announces-ban-on-1-500-types-of-military-style-guns-1.4920606|url-status=live}}</ref>  PolySeSouvient welcomed the news, but critiqued the possibility of a [[Grandfather clause|grandfathering]] clause for the weapons as a danger to public safety.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bronskill|first=Jim|date=2020-05-14|title=Optional buyback program could see assault-style gun ban unravel, group warns|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/optional-buyback-program-could-see-assault-style-gun-ban-unravel-group-warns-1.4938907 |access-date=2022-01-12|publisher=CTVNews|language=en|archive-date=January 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112032512/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/optional-buyback-program-could-see-assault-style-gun-ban-unravel-group-warns-1.4938907 |url-status=live}}</ref> On December 5th, 2024, one day before the anniversary of the massacre, the Government of Canada announced that they will be extending the previous 2020 "military-grade [[assault-style weapons]] ban" order in council with another OIC. This ban consists of 104 families of firearms, encompassing 324 unique makes and models, all of them semi-automatic. There will also be a mandatory buyback program with an [[amnesty]] deadline expiring on October 30, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Public Safety |date=2024-12-05 |title=Government of Canada extends list of prohibited assault-style firearms and moves forward on regulatory changes to strengthen gun control |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/12/government-of-canada-extends-list-of-prohibited-assault-style-firearms-and-moves-forward-on-regulatory-changes-to-strengthen-gun-control.html |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref>