'Very difficult day': An emotional Mark Carney says 'the nation mourns with you' after mass shooting at B.C. high school
OTTAWA — An emotional Prime Minister Mark Carney said it’s a “time to come together as Canadians always do” to mourn as a nation after a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.left 10 dead , including the suspect.
“It’s obviously a very difficult day for the nation. This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love,” said Carney, holding back tears as he spoke to reporters before a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday morning.
“The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you.”
Carney said the flags on the Peace Tower in Ottawa and all government buildings would be at half-mast for seven days in the wake of the tragedy. The prime minister also paused an international trip he was scheduled to embark on Wednesday evening.
Carney said he has reached out to B.C. Premier David Eby to express condolences and that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree is travelling to the province to coordinate the federal response. Conservative MP Bob Zimmer, who represents the area in the House of Commons, is also travelling back to B.C.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said all parties, including the prime minister, would deliver a statement following a moment of silence after question period on Wednesday.
“This community only has 2,400 people… That community will have almost every single person affected directly,” said Stephen Fuhr, the member of Parliament for the B.C. riding of Kelowna.
“Who do you lean on, when everybody is affected?”
Carney was scheduled to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday evening after making an announcement in Halifax, but both events have been paused in the wake of the shooting.
Police said six people were found dead at a Tumbler Ridge, B.C. high school on Tuesday, along with the shooter, and two more people were found dead at a separate location. Another person died en route to the hospital. Twenty-five people were assessed at a local medical centre for non-life-threatening injuries.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it was a time for all Canadians to unite and said he would be in touch with the prime minister and the other opposition parties to “offer all of our support to help the community in any way we can.”
“As a father I can’t even imagine the phone calls that parents might have received. I can’t imagine the heartache and hell that they’re living through at this moment,” said Poilievre, before a Conservative caucus meeting on Wednesday.
More to come.
National Post
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