Read the full transcript of Carney’s Tumbler Ridge shooting statement

Prime Minister Mark Carney and federal party leaders paid tribute to the community of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., and the victims of Tuesday’s deadly mass shooting in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Eight people were killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a residence in the small northern B.C. community. The shooter was found dead with a self-inflicted injury, police said.

The statements came after MPs held a moment of silence in honour of the victims and their families, and agreed to adjourn the House of Commons until Thursday morning.

Here is the full transcript of the statements in the House of Commons, with English translation of French remarks.

Mr Speaker, this morning, families in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, woke to a different world. Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters began this day as their first day on earth without someone they loved dearly.

What happened has left our nation in shock and all of us in mourning. Nine people killed. More than 25 others injured. Some still in hospital fighting for their lives. The investigation is ongoing, and we must allow law enforcement the time and space to do their work accordingly.

Mr. Speaker, as this House knows, Tumbler Ridge is a community of some 2,400 people nestled in the foothills of the Rockies. It is one of the youngest towns in the great province of British Columbia. It was carved out of the wilderness in the 1980s, built on the promise of the resource economy and by the determination of its residents.

It’s a town of miners, teachers, construction workers. Families who have built their lives there, people who have always shown up for each other there.

When wildfires raged, neighbors helped each other pack up and move out of harm’s way. They checked in on seniors and those living alone. They made sure that no one was left behind. When the coal mines shut down, residents supported local businesses. They shared leads for jobs, and they lifted each other up.

Mr. Speaker, Tumbler Ridge represents the very best of Canada. Resilient, compassionate, and strong.

(IN FRENCH)

Yesterday morning, parents in Tumbler Ridge sent their children off to school, and some will never be able to hug their children again. These children and their teachers bore witness to unheard of cruelty.

I want everyone to know this. Our entire country stands with you. On behalf of all Canadians. I offer my prayers to the victims, to their families and friends, to all those who were injured, and to all those whose lives have been forever changed.

(IN ENGLISH)

I want to express my profound gratitude to the first responders. The RCMP officers who entered immediately that school, not knowing what awaited them. To the paramedics and medical staff at the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre. To the teachers and the school staff who acted with extraordinary courage to protect the children in their care.

In the darkest of moments they showed the best of our country.

I have spoken with Premier Eby to express my condolences and those of the Government of of Canada. The minister of public safety has been coordinating the federal response and is en route to Tumbler Ridge with the premier and Minister Robertson. The MP, Bob Zimmer, is already there.

Our officials are in close contact with their provincial and local counterparts to ensure that the community receives every support that we can provide now and in the weeks and months ahead.

Mr. Speaker, we have been here before.

L’École Polytechnique in Montreal. The Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec City. La Loche, Saskatchewan. Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Portapique, Nova Scotia.

Each time, it breaks us open. Each time, Canadians show who we are.

Mr. Speaker, in the days ahead, there will be important questions to ask, difficult conversations to have. We owe that to the victims and their families. But now, it’s time for grieving and remembrance. Now is for the people of Tumbler Ridge and the Peace River region, for a community that is enduring the unimaginable.

(IN FRENCH)

Mr. Speaker, a few moments ago we held a moment of silence for the grieving community and families. For many of them, today, silence is only too heavy.

We will never be able to fully reconcile ourselves with the senseless violence that tore apart Tumbler Ridge yesterday. But we can seek comfort from each other, and we can take care of each other.

(IN ENGLISH)

To those families who have lost loved ones, this House mourns with you. To those who are recovering from injuries, this House prays for you. To the students, the teachers, the parents, every residence of Tumbler Ridge, all of Canada stands with you.

May the memories of those lost be a blessing. May this community, which has shown its resilience so many times before, once again find the strength to heal. And may this House prove worthy of what Tumbler Ridge has always been, by striving to make Canada a better, kinder, and safer place.

Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.

Thank you Mr. Speaker, and thank you Prime Minister for your eloquent words. I’m sure words that you never wanted to deliver on the floor of this chamber.

As fathers we both know the feeling of sending our kids to school, hoping that they’ll play and perform, laugh and learn, but most of all come home to us in our loving arms at night. Sure, there’s the odd skinned knee or sore belly when they get back, but that’s usually the worst of our concerns.

Yesterday, as we were tucking our kids in, I got a terrible phone call from Bob Zimmer, the member of Parliament who represents Tumbler Ridge, telling me that a shooting had occurred and, though details were not yet well known, it was going to be bad. And those details have come in.

Children who should have been thinking about homework and hockey were instead thrown into terror, grief, and unbearable uncertainty.

Nine lives were stolen. Twenty-five injured. Nine families devastated. An entire community in grief. That community is the best of Canada. A community of miners and loggers, hardworking people, hearty, strong, the kind of people who fight their own battles but never hesitate to help a neighbour in need. They are the backbone of this nation.

Behind every number is a name, a child, a friend, a teacher, a neighbour, a family member, each with a story. Or as the rabbi said, each life is its own universe.

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As a father, I can only imagine the phone call or visit that brought the news, the panic, the helplessness, the heartache that followed. No parent should ever have to fear that their child will not return home from school. No parent should ever bury their own child. 

(IN FRENCH)

As a father, I can only imagine the call or visit to announce the news, the panic, the helplessness, the grief that followed. No parent should ever have to fear for their child’s life at school and no parent should ever have to bury their own child.

(IN ENGLISH)

To the families who have lost loved ones, there are no words that can comfort or verses that can that can console. All we have is the words of all members of this House that we are with you, and that in the memories you carry of your loved ones, they will live on in this world even after they have passed into the next one.

To the young people who were in that school, I’ve had indirect accounts shared with me, and I can’t even imagine what you witnessed or the horrors to which you have borne witness. I cannot comfort you or heal those wounds, other than to say that the whole nation wraps its arms around you.

To the people of Tumbler Ridge, Canadians across the land are thinking of you. The world is thinking of you. We know that in your small tight-knit community, grief spreads across families, workplaces, churches, and friend groups, and know that all of us stand with you. 

To the courageous police, paramedics, firefighters, and other first responders, to the staff who risked their lives to save their kids, thank you for your incredible courage. All of us owe you a permanent debt of gratitude.

To the pastors, the priests, the clergy, the medical and the mental health professionals whose daunting task now is to bind up the wounds, may God be with you in your work.

And on behalf of the official opposition, as I told the prime minister moments ago, we will be with you, with the provincial leaders, with local government, and we will do everything we can to support this community through this hardship. We all stand together. There is no partisanship on this day.

And that includes the work that we give in support of our emergency first responders, who will of course be traumatized but will be carrying out continued efforts on behalf of the community. And to the RCMP, we will support you and your work as you gather up the facts and complete your investigation, and in good time, at the appropriate moment, make all the facts — indeed all the facts — known to Canadians.

And we commit ourselves to being present for all those who have lost so much, long after the limelight is gone, but while the grief remains.

And so those who suffer today, we offer you our prayers. And for all those who do pray, I ask you to share a prayer with the wonderful people of this amazing town.

As the great Psalm said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for you are with me, O Lord.” Thank you.

1:03
‘Do not suffer alone’: Bloc leader tells Quebec First Nation after murder-suicide in Kitigan Zibi

(IN FRENCH)

Mr. Speaker, today our thoughts are with the community of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia. Nine children were torn away from the community and 25 more were injured. Our thoughts are with the victims of this nameless, senseless violence right in a secondary school.

I hope you will allow me to make an exception today, so that I can speak directly to the families and people in B.C. who have not all had a chance to learn French.

(IN ENGLISH)

In the name of the Bloc Québécois and in my own, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the families of the nine children whose life was taken, to the 25 families awaiting and hoping for good news about their wounded children, and to the entire community of Tumbler Ridge.

(IN FRENCH)

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, and here I presume I can speak for the entire Quebec nation, I offer my condolences to the families of the nine victims and all our solidarity to the families of the 25 people injured and the community of Tumbler Ridge as a whole.

Our hearts are with the families who have been impacted, with the parents who are living through the ultimate cruelty, the ultimate injustice, which nothing can prepare one for and which, I suppose, changes one’s life forever, having one’s child torn away.

Our hearts are also with the parents who are holding their breath as they wait for news about their children from the hospital. With those who are divided between relief that they could bring a living child home, and deep empathy for the families who could not. With all the students at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School whose lives have just been changed forever, with the children who will always be asking, “Why? Why us? Why them and not me? Why here? Why?” Their whys will never get an answer.

With all the people who are waiting in dread to learn the names of the victims, knowing that in a community of under 2,400 people, the victims will inevitably be known to them: grandchildren, neighbors, friends. An entire village has lost its children.

I would like to thank the police, care personnel, support workers, and all of those who have gathered in Tumbler Ridge to support its people. Thank you for being there today, and thank you to those who will remain there long after the flags are raised and life has resumed its course.

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would also like to offer my hand to the government. It can count on our full cooperation if there is anything it needs to support those in mourning.

Today, Quebec and British Columbia have never been closer. All Quebecers who have a child at school today are with British Columbia. All Quebecers today are remembering Polytechnique, the women who were taken from us, and the pain which will endure forever.

Everyone is asking today, what kind of a world do we live in? Currently, we have not learned about a motive. But could there be any motive that would justify taking a weapon and aiming it at our children? Nothing will ever explain or justify such a horror.

If you allow it, Mr. Speaker, I will end on another note. Our hearts are with Tumbler Ridge, but they are also big enough to have room for another small community: Kitigan Zibi, and the Anishinaabe Nation, which also lost two children today. Two children whose lives were lost at the hands of their own father, who then proceeded to take his own.

We would like to say to our brothers and sisters in the Anishinaabe Nation that they do not suffer alone. The Quebec nation is with them. I’m sure it is the case for the Canadian Parliament as well.

Mr Speaker, today is a dark day. To get through this ordeal will require courage, fellowship, solidarity and compassion in great quantities and from all quarters.

We will remember. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we solemnly gather today in the shadow of a heartbreaking tragedy that has shaken our country. Our nation is in mourning.

Yesterday in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, nine innocent lives were senselessly taken and 25 people were injured in a horrific mass shooting. This violence unfolded at a school, a place meant to nurture and protect our children, deepening the shock and sorrow felt by all Canadians.

Loved ones have been stolen. Families have been shattered. And a small community will be changed forever.

In a place where everyone knows one another, where neighbours are more like extended family, a loss like this reverberates through every home, every workplace and every gathering.

To the families who are mourning, we grieve with you, we stand behind you and we hold you in our hearts. We know that no words can possibly fill the void you are experiencing, but we hope that you can feel the embrace of a nation that stands with you in your grief today, tomorrow, and in all the difficult days ahead.

(IN FRENCH)

To the families, we grieve with you, we stand behind you and we hold you in our hearts. We know that no words can possibly fill the void that you are experiencing, but we hope that you can feel the embrace of a nation that stands with you in your grief today, tomorrow and in all the difficult days ahead.

(IN ENGLISH)

We remember each of the victims not as numbers in a headline, but as human beings whose lives were rich and meaningful. The light that they brought into this world and the potential they carried can never be replaced and will never be forgotten.

To the injured, we send our deepest thoughts of healing and strength. To the students, friends and teachers who suffered this assault, we are there for you.

We express our profound gratitude to the educators who first faced this assault, the first responders who courageously rushed to the scene as it unfolded, and to all the health-care workers who are caring for the injured. Your humanity and professionalism in the face of trauma remind us of the quiet heroism you display in our communities every single day.

We thank the many people of Tumbler Ridge and across the region who have rushed to offer support for one another in this heartbreaking moment. In times like these, the strength of a community is truly revealed.

In the face of such senseless tragedy and pain, we feel anger, confusion, and despair. We ask ourselves, “How can such violence happen in our communities, in this country?” These questions matter and they deserve honest thoughtful consideration, and there will be a time to answer them. But that time is not today.

Today is a day when we cherish the victims and care for their families. Today is a day when we collectively grieve, comfort, and hold each other just a little more tightly. And today is a day when a nation comes together in solidarity and love.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

(IN FRENCH)

Thank you Mr. Speaker, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank the prime minister for his wise and moving words. I also thank the Opposition leader for saying what is hard to say aloud.

(IN ENGLISH)

It is hard for anyone who is a parent to imagine what the community of Tumbler Ridge is going through.

(IN FRENCH)

I also thank the Bloc Quebecois leader, who made the important remark that we are now united together. I also thank the Bloc leader for marking the tragedy that the Anishinaabe Nation is undergoing. Miigwech.

And I thank the leader of the New Democratic Party who, like me, is a member for B.C.

(IN ENGLISH)

There are no words, and politicians will try to find words. I will try not to.

I want to send my love to our dear friend, the member of Parliament for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies. This is the kind of thing none of us want to have happen in Canada, but to have it happen in a place like Tumbler Ridge — so small, everyone knows everyone, and I know that the member of Parliament knows everyone, and it is a time that our hearts are broken.

(IN FRENCH)

Now, we are not just a nation, we are a united nation and a family.

(IN ENGLISH)

We love each other.

(IN FRENCH)

And now our hearts are broken.

(IN ENGLISH)

I think of Matthew 5.4, that “blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted,” but that comfort may feel far, far away right now if you’re in Tumbler Ridge.

Know wherever you are that we’re praying for the injured, the 12-year-old little girl fighting for her life in hospital. We will be with you this day, yes, and whether believers or not we are all one in the human family and we hold you all close.

And if there’s ever any opportunity that we can, as individual members of Parliament, do anything to alleviate the pain and the suffering and the grief of the people of Tumbler Ridge, we’re with you today.

(IN FRENCH)

Today and always. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

(IN FRENCH)

Colleagues, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your beautiful expressions of support and love for the community of Tumbler Ridge.

Today in this House, we are united in our shock, in our sorrow and in our thoughts for the people of Tumbler Ridge and the families and friends of who are impacted by this tragic violence.

(IN ENGLISH)

We struggle to find the right words, because there are none. Nothing we say here today can change the events of yesterday. We can only hope that our words will in some small way lessen the burden of sorrow of those who have lost their loved ones.

(IN FRENCH)

Their lives and the lives of all those in Tumbler Ridge have been changed forever.

As members of Parliament, we understand what community means. With our own eyes, we have seen how powerful communities can be in the face of tragedy. And today, as your words have expressed, Canada is united into one community in support of the people of Tumbler Ridge.

(IN ENGLISH)

We recognize the bravery of the first responders who answered the call within minutes and acted with courage and compassion. We recognize the resilience of communities to come together in support and empathy. We recognize the quiet heroes who respond to their neighbours and friends with kindness, caring, and strength, this day and in the long days to come.

For the people of Tumblr Ridge, we in this House are united and stand with you. Together in this House, we hold you in our hearts. And we will walk with you on your long journey of grief.

(IN FRENCH)

Finally, I would like to draw members’ attention to the condolence book, which can be found just outside the doors of the House. I would invite you to take a moment to send a message to the families impacted by the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge. The book of condolences will remain until that Tuesday, Feb. 17, which is also the last day when flags will be flown at half-mast. It will then be brought to the community by the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies.

(IN ENGLISH)

As we leave the chamber today, let us commit to compassion for all those affected by the tragedy, to fellowship with all those whose hearts ache, and to support the families, friends and community that suffer in this dark moment.

Merci beaucoup. Thank you.