‘Solidarity Rally’ held outside courthouse on first full day of Borutski trial
Posted Oct 5, 2017 04:12:36 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – As the trial for Basil Borutski began its first full day at the Ottawa Courthouse, a group gathered for a solidarity rally at the Human Right Monument Thursday.
The group held candles with the names of the victims of the 2015 murders — Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam — written on them.
And while the rally was put together to show support for their families, many in attendance were also focusing on another issue.
“This is about our culture. This is about what we are not doing,” said Because Wilno Organizer Holly Campbell, pointing the finger at a lack of response to issues of violence against women “The reality is, this is happening in every neighbourhood across Canada.”
Supporters at the rally called for an “army” to band together, to prevent things like this from happening again.
“This gentleman (Borutski) had a long history of criminal incidences, he was stalking and harassing these women,” says Michelle Amu with the Eastern Ottawa Resources Centre. “The whole community knew. So, I feel like we failed them by not protecting them.”
Victims and survivors of abuse also spoke, some pointing the finger at the police and justice system and the way they handle complaints of this nature.
But Campbell says the bottom line of today’s rally is about support during a rough time for the Wilno community.
“If there’s anything that the Ottawa community can do to demonstrate their great concern and that we are with them, we’re going to do that.”
