MONTREAL — As Canadians paused Tuesday to remember the victims of the country's worst mass shooting, the sister of one of the 14 women who were killed said she hopes tougher gun laws will become an issue in the federal election.

Catherine Bergeron said a lot has been done to tighten gun laws since her sister Genevieve was slain in gunman Marc Lepine's rampage at the University of Montreal's engineering school on Dec. 6, 1989, but more is needed.

"I think it's an important message that all the politicians get, that it's an important law," she said at a commemorative service to remember the slain women.

She added the message is especially important for the Conservative party.

Bergeron made the remarks as Green Party Leader Jim Harris urged Conservative Leader Stephen Harper to reject the recent offer of support for the Conservatives from the U.S.-based National Rifle Association.

"It's regrettable that Mr. Harper did not immediately reject these offers and send a strong signal to all Canadians that the NRA's mandate is not a sub-section of the Conservative platform," Harris said in a statement from Ottawa.

Harper did not have an immediate reaction to Harris' remarks but sent a message of support to the families and friends of the Dec. 6 massacre victims.

"The Montreal massacre is a reminder to us all that we must continue to condemn those who advocate hatred and violence toward women," Harper said in the statement from Petty Harbour, NL.

"On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we are all reminded of the importance of continued vigilance against, and awareness of, these grave crimes."

Gunfire has crackled in Canadian streets at alarming rates this year, with shots ringing out on an almost daily basis for two weeks in August in Toronto.

People have been left sprawled and bleeding at venues as varied as nightclubs, homes and funerals.

Canada's gun law, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, has faced steady challenges in Parliament, particularly in the operation of the controversial gun registry.

Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control, said in a statement "we find ourselves entering another election campaign with the Conservatives threatening to repeal the law.

"It is hard to believe that 16 years after the massacre and 10 years after Bill C-68 became law we are still fighting to protect a law which most Canadians want and the police and violence prevention experts need."

Bergeron acknowledged illegal firearms are still a problem but stressed the gun law is needed "even if it costs a lot and it has some problems."

"It's not a perfect law but it does help a lot and it did for the last 10 years concretely help diminish deaths with firearms."

A number of other commemorative services took place across the country.

In Halifax, Nova Scotia's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women announced a new initiative to help raise awareness about violence against women.

The Silent Witness project is designed to help members of a community learn the story of a woman who died at the hands of a partner. The plan highlights three aspects of violence against women - intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and workplace violence.

Bergeron, who says her thoughts are with her sister on Dec. 6, wants people to use the day as a continued call to action.

"I would like people to remember Dec. 6 not for what happened but just to remember there's a lot to do for violence against women and to remember the gun control law is important."

Bergeron was one of about 100 people who marked the 16th anniversary of the killings with a ceremony at a small park in the shadow of the Ecole polytechnique, the university's engineering school.

NDP Leader Jack Layton attended the ceremony but stood discreetly in the back and declined interview requests, saying it was a day for women to speak out on violence.

"This is not a day for men to comment," said Layton, who in 1991 was one of the founders of the White Ribbon campaign against violence against women. "I'm here to commemorate. It's a day for women to speak out against violence against women."

Heritage Minister Liza Frulla also attended and said the federal government would defend gun control laws already in place but added there are many dimensions to the problem.

"We just have to make sure now that all the programs that we have at the federal, provincial, municipal levels are really working very well, which is not always the case and we have to look at violence against women in a holistic way," she said in an interview. "Mental illness is as important as gun control."