Gatineau rally marks Quebec's 19th suspected femicide

Tashi Farmilo

Femicide brought participants to the corner of Gréber Boulevard and Jacques-Cartier Street on October 7. Maison d'INGRID and supporting organizations gathered beside Gatineau's Parc Mémoire d'Elles from noon to 1 pm, following the death of Monique Thibault Poirier. The 77-year-old Laval woman's death is the 19th suspected femicide in Quebec this year, according to a feminist coalition's tally.

Laval police found Poirier on September 29 in a condo tower on Jean-Béraud Avenue in the city's Chomedey district. Her partner was injured at the scene. Ronald Thibault, 78, is charged with first-degree murder.

"It was our house that launched the mobilization," said Claudia Fradette, director general of Maison d'INGRID. She explained that the gathering was not meant to be a march, a demonstration or a vigil. "It's really to show our outrage at the femicides that keep happening even today."

Participants stood with signs around the intersection. Fradette said several organizations in the region have offered their support. The group's Facebook page, STOP aux féminicides (Mobilisation Outaouais), said its members want these deaths to be seen as more than statistics and called for concrete measures to protect women.

Maison d'INGRID is working toward a shelter on land in Cantley for women and children leaving domestic violence. It takes its name from Ingrid Falaise, the Quebec actor whose memoir recounts the abusive marriage she survived.

The count comes from the Coalition féministe contre la violence envers les femmes, which keeps a public memorial listing each victim by name. The women whose lives were taken are: Tadjan'ah Desir, Mary Iqiquq Tukalak, Susana Rocha Cruz, Véronic Champagne, Marie-Kate Ottawa, Sonia Maricela Gonzalez Vasquez, Danielle Lascelles, Julie Pontbriand, Katerine Alejandra Mejia Salinas, Hiba Elrhazi, Shannon Jean Hickey, Sushmita Bhaskaran, Yasamin Ataye, Leakkhena Seng, Kerline Jean, Elisabeth Qumak, Leïla Ben Salem and Monique Thibault Poirier, along with one woman whose name has not been released.

Among them is Shannon Jean Hickey, 30, who died in Gatineau in May. Hers was the region's first femicide since 2021.

Parc Mémoire d'Elles is home to a monument honouring Jeannine Boissonneault, whose body was found in Houston in 1968. Her husband, Raymond Durand, a Gatineau native, was convicted of her murder 24 years later. The park also hosts a vigil every December 6 to mark the Polytechnique massacre.

Fradette said the group intends to return to the same corner. "Following any femicide, you'll find us here," she said.

SOS violence conjugale answers calls at any hour at 1-800-363-9010. A list of Outaouais shelters is posted at agir-outaouais.ca/maisons.