Survivors of 2006 Dawson College shooting urge voters not to pick Conservatives

Survivors and families of victims of the 2006 Dawson College shooting in Montreal are marking the 15th anniversary of the tragedy on Monday by urging Canadians to think twice before voting for the Conservatives in the Sept. 20 federal election.

"We need you to not vote Conservative," said Kathlene Dixon, whose daughter, Meaghan Hennegan, was shot twice in the attack and survived. "We need you to vote Liberal, or if you live in Quebec, to vote Liberal or Bloc Quebecois," she said in a news release. The release says the Dawson killer was the legal owner of a handgun and a Beretta CX4 Storm with a legal 10-bullet magazine. The weapons were used to take the life of 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and injure 16 others at the Montreal junior college. The Beretta the Dawson shooter used was among 1,500 makes of semi-automatic firearms that were banned following a May 1, 2020, Liberal cabinet order. Handguns, however, remain legal. The Conservative party platform initially included a section about repealing the ban. That section, however, has been amended since the election document was released. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole has said his party would maintain the Liberal cabinet order and that "all firearms that are currently banned will remain banned."