Media Advisory: MADD Canada Adds 11 Names to Ontario Provincial Memorial Monument for Victims of Alcohol- and Drug-Related Crashes

BRAMPTON, Ontario, Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Families, survivors and community members will gather this Saturday for MADD Canada’s Ontario Provincial Memorial Monument ceremony, honouring innocent victims killed in alcohol- and drug-related crashes. The ceremony is an opportunity to recognize the devastating consequences of impaired driving and reaffirm the importance of preventing this violent crime.

The monument is located at Chinguacousy Park in Brampton, Ontario. It is an artistic representation of the guardrails on the side of a road, and a continuous rail held by wooden slabs, upon which the names of Ontario victims are engraved. The guardrail is a symbol of how we protect and cherish the memories of the victims and support their families. Since its inauguration in 2023, the monument has been engraved with the names of 175 innocent victims killed in alcohol, cannabis and/or other drug-related crashes, including 11 new names added this year: Rebecca Beatty, Leanne Holland Brown, Terri Lee Callaway, Hal Tierney, Ramone Jaiden Laviña, Jace Evan Laviña, Mya Ava Laviña, Tyler McConnell, Scott William Olesen, Sivanermaikkarasi Parameswaran, and Alexander Thomas Pellizzari.

Media are invited to attend the ceremony. Interviews with special guests will be available upon request.

“Every year, hundreds of Canadians are killed and thousands more are injured in impaired driving crashes that are entirely preventable,” said Tanya Hansen Pratt, National President of MADD Canada. “The Ontario Provincial Memorial Monument gives us a place to remember, but also a reason to act. Every victim honoured here had a life, a family and a future. We must do everything to ensure that other families do not have to gather at a memorial because someone chose to drive after consuming alcohol, cannabis and/or other drugs.”

Since 2009, MADD Canada has established Memorial Monuments for victims of alcohol and drug-related crashes in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. Ceremonies are held each year to unveil new names added to the Monuments and to pay tribute to all victims. MADD Canada is excited the Prince Edward Island Provincial Memorial Monument will be unveiled on September 19. The organization is working towards establishing a similar monument in British Columbia. 

For more information about MADD Canada’s victim and survivor services, check out madd.ca.

To RSVP for the ceremony, contact:
Chloé Piché, MADD Canada Victim Services Manager, Ontario and Quebec, 1-800-665-6233 ext. 237
Arielle Nkongmeneck, MADD Canada Communications Manager, 1-800-665-6233 ext. 240 or 647-462-6233, or ankongmeneck@madd.ca.