OTTAWA – Envelopes with the return address of “Ottawa shooting” and containing unknown white powder were sent to two senators’ offices on Monday.
An internal security bulletin sent out just after noon said the envelopes and their contents have been secured, and the RCMP has been notified. Members of the Ottawa Fire Department hazardous materials team were also on scene.
Conservative Sen. Linda Frum tweeted mid-afternoon Monday that the white powder tested negative for harmful substances. A note from the Senate confirmed that law enforcement authorities found that the substance is non-toxic.
Senators were asked not to open mail unless it is from a confirmed source.
A Senate staff member also tweeted a photo of an envelope that said “Shooting in Parliament” in the top left corner, saying he had been locked down.
No employees showed signs of illness from touching the envelopes, said the bulletin, sent by Patrick McDonell, the deputy sergeant-at-arms and director general of protection service for the Senate.
The envelopes were sent to two different locations – one on Parliament Hill, and one across the street, where some Senate offices are housed.
Watch: Suspicious white powder sent to Conservative MPs in Quebec
The packages come two weeks after suspicious envelopes were mailed to the constituency offices of four federal ministers, including a note that read, “Conservatives you will be annihilated.”
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