Hundreds march in Montreal for slain teenager and other victims of violence
On Sunday, 16-year-old Thomas Trudel was shot in St-Michel.
In February, 15-year-old Meriem Boundaoui was caught by a bullet in a drive-by shooting in St-Leonard and died.
Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, 16, was stabbed to death in Cote-des-Neiges in October.
Hundreds showed up to honour these teenagers and march to remember their lives and demand for solutions.
Supporters gathered at Parc Franncois-Perrault, near where Trudel was shot and killed just over a week ago.
Among them was 15-year-old Nazim, a former classmate of Trudel's, who said he'll be remembered for his kindness.
"The day after his death, something was wrong with François-Perreault. (...) It was not like before. It's like the school has lost its soul," said Nazim.
The memorial march comes the day after the funeral for Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, who was stabbed and killed outside of his school. Dopwell-Bailey's family criticized the "double standard" from politicians in Quebec, who publicly spoke and made gestures of support after Trudel's death, but not for the 16-year-old.
Premier Francois Legault laid flowers at a makeshift memorial for Trudel, and Mayor Valerie Plante held a news conference after his dealth along with Montreal police (SPVM) chief Sylvain Caron offering support to the family. Neither made a similar gesture after Dopwell-Bailey was killed.
MNA Chantal Rouleau, MP Pablo Rodriguez and provincial Liberal leader Dominique Anglade and other politicians attended the march on Saturday and some spoke about violence in the city and the need to address its root causes.
"They are all our children," said Rouleau, who called gun crime prevention a "community responsibility."
"It's so important to stay together, and fight together, against violence," she said.
The Forum Jeuness de Saint-Michel organized Saturday's event, which included speeches, a moment of silence and the opportunity to lay flowers in memorium.
'WE NEED TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS': ANGLADE
Lawmakers renewed appeals to Ottawa for more support to fight gun trafficking, saying the issue concerns federal jurisdictions.
"The federal (government) has a mandate at its borders, that's clear. They need to take action," said provincial opposition leader Anglade, adding that the province also needs to step up its efforts.
As for "the provincial (government), if you work with organizations on the ground, you realize they need help," she said. "Prevention is key. Where is the money?"
"At the end of the day, we need to put our money where our mouth is."
Honoré-Mercier MP Rodriguez echoed those concerns, saying "we all have to do more," and hailing the federal government's assault-style weapons ban.
"I'm not here as minister, I'm here as a human being, as a father," he said. "We have to stand up to violence."
-- This is a developing story that will be updated. This article was published with files from CTV News' Ian Wood and The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.