Unifor Local 444 honours women lost to violence on day of remembrance
‘I don’t know if our family will ever heal,’ says Autumn Taggart’s cousin
For the 19th year, the women's committee at Unifor Local 444 held its annual memorial for Mary Lou Turjeon-Lewenza (Hyjek), who was a Plant 6 worker when she was killed by her husband in 1998.
"She was vibrant, loved life. It's been 20 years since she was stolen from us," said Pamela Turjeon-Miller, her sister.
The memorial is planned on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which was marked since the massacre in Montreal where 14 women died at École Polytechnique in 1989.
The committee also donated $2,000 to House of Sophrosyne and $2,000 to the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women as part of the commemoration.
Lori Dupont, a Windsor nurse who was killed by her ex-boyfriend who worked at the same hospital in 2005, was also remembered at the memorial. As was Theresa Vince, a Chatham woman who was murdered by her boss in 1996.
And more recently, Autumn Taggart, who was found dead in her apartment June this year. A 27-year-old man is charged with first-degree murder aggravated sexual assault in relation to Taggart's death.
Her cousin, Amber Gelinas, said Taggart's death has had an "astronomical" impact on the family.
"I don't know if our family will ever heal, or if we'll ever feel like we're whole again," she said. "Because a part of us has just been taken away and she was just so young, and she had so much of her life in front of her."
Those names they're remembering are only several "out of thousands" who have faced violence, said James Stewart, secretary-treasurer at Local 444. He said men, including himself, need to question themselves on whether they're doing enough to end the problem.
"It starts with building a culture that's equitable, that's when violence will stop," said Stewart.
According to Susan McKinnon, chairperson of the committee, one of the things they want to see is to have the provincial roundtable on violence against women reinstated.
"We're here to make sure we don't forget and we need to make sure we add action to our plans to move forward," she said.