The park sits in the centre of the older part of the city. It is named after Heather Moyse, a young woman from Summerside who is a two time Olympic gold medalist in two-woman bobsled. Heather is an all round athlete having competed internationally in rugby and cycling as well.
The park is a gathering place for activities throughout the year and is well groomed and maintained year round. It features labelled native island trees and the trails wind over bridges across streams. The irises alone in summer are enough to brighten one’s day.
What always causes me pause in this park is the memorial for the victims of the Dec 6th massacre at École Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989. Fourteen young women were murdered when a man, citing his anti-feminist stance, walked into an engineering class, separated the men from the women and opened fire.
The women’s names are engraved in stone here and flowers left from the December 6 ceremony are encased in the ice and snow. The names are frozen in time, their spirits forever young and strong.
December 6th in Canada has become a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. We remember the fourteen but focus on the struggle women face in our world and how we can help. Many of us have friends or loved ones who experience violence or experience it ourselves.
This park celebrates a strong, capable woman who is living her best life. But we pause in this beautiful place every time we’re here to remember these other women who were cut down in their prime, who didn’t have that opportunity. Their names represent the millions of others who suffer behind closed doors, in silence and fear. Walking here in winter the silence and fear are manifested in the biting cold.
We pause and walk on, in hope of better days.