December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. UPEI will observe the day by lowering the flags in front of Kelley Memorial Building to half-mast.

Each year, the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women(link is external) asks Islanders to wear a purple ribbon for 16 days —from November 25 to December 10—to raise awareness about violence against women and children here on PEI, across Canada, and throughout the world. The 2020–2021 theme of the Purple Ribbon Campaign is “Support Survivors.” 

This year the Montreal Massacre Memorial Service organized by the Advisory Council will occur online due to COVID-19. It will be broadcast at noon on Sunday, December 6, 2020, through Zoom. Everyone is welcome to join and tickets are free(link is external). This annual gathering honours the lives of women that have been lost to violence: PEI women, the 14 women of l’Ecole Polytechnique, and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.