ALEXANDRE Bissonnette, who shot dead six worshippers and injured 19 others on January 29, 2017, in a Quebec City mosque was on Friday sentenced to serve 40 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Bissonnette pleaded guilty last March to six counts of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder. Those killed were Azzedine Soufiane, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry and Ibrahima Barry.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Francois Huot said the murders “will forever be written in blood in the history of this city, this province, this country.”

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has been calling upon the federal government to designate January 29 as a National Day of Action Against Hate and Intolerance as a way to remember the victims and show solidarity with other communities affected by hatred, bigotry and racism, including Islamophobia.