Orlando nightclub attack: Philippe Couillard denounces shooting

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says theOrlando,Fla.,attackthat killed 49 people and injured 53 others ata gay nightclub is a reminder that we cannot "let hatred dominate our society."

Couillard said the "horrifying" event is another signal of the need to "fight against terrorism in all its forms."

"Fundamentally, theLGBTcommunity was targeted," he said, comparing the shooting to the 1989 massacre of 14 women atMontreal's cole Polytechnique.

"Why? Because it's a symbol of tolerance and an open society, where we want to letpeople live as they are, and this is something that some people hate. And we will not let that hatred dominate our society."

Couillardmade the comments this morningoutsidetheEconomic Forum of the Americas taking place in Montreal.

• Orlando vaults mass shootings, into 2016 U.S. political campaign
• Gunman had been investigated for terror links

OmarMateen, 29, has been identified as the shooter.Hewas killed bypolice after he opened fire early Sunday inside Pulse,a popular gay nightclub.

The gunmanhad previously been investigated by the FBI for links to terrorism.

Vigils in Montreal andacross Canada

The attack leavesmany reflectingon what the violence means for Montreal'sLGBTQ community.

• 'Homophobic' Orlando shooting hits nerve in Montreal

An impromptu vigil was held Sunday night at the AIDS memorial on the corner ofSte-CatherineandPanetstreetsto show solidarity for the people of Orlando.

Memorials were also held in several other Canadian cities.

A secondMontrealvigil, organizedby the community groupCollectifCarrRose,is planned for Thursday evening,

Louis-AlainRobitaille, aspokesperson for the group, told CBC Montreal'sDaybreakpeople he's been speaking with arestill strugglingto make sense of the shooting.

"It's very emotional," he said. "The discussion is starting now."

Robitaille said the shooting is a reminder homophobia remains a problem here in Montreal.

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Less than two months ago, a same-sex couple reported they wereinsulted and beaten for publicly embracing at an east-end bar.

According toGaicoute'sregistry,close to 1,000 homophobicincidents were reported in Montreal in the past 18 months.

'A problem for the community in general'

This week, several U.S. and Canadian cities are celebrating Pride Week,though Montrealcelebrates its versioninAugust.

Jean-Sebastien Boudreault, vice-president of Pride Montreal, said the Montreal event may require tighter security this year.

But he said the attack is likely to encourage more people to come out for the parade this year.

"I think from what I've seen, they want to come together, they want to show their support and we can't be stopped like an isolated event like this," Boudreault said.

"This kind of shooting is still happening so often in the rest of the world."

He added thatwhile theattack happened ina gay club, italso points to a bigger issue a lack of gun control in the United States.

"It's a problem for the LGBTcommunity, but it's a problem for the community in general," he said.

FrancisCavanagh, a bartender at BarAigleNoir, said the incident proves homophobia is not a thing of the past.

"These things don't just happen in Russia or in faraway places," he said.