Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday paid tribute to the victims killed in Tuesday’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., and urged survivors and the community reeling from tragedy to persevere during a community vigil with federal and provincial leaders.
“I know that nothing I can say will bring your children home,” he told a crowd of hundreds as family members of the victims stood behind him. “I know that no words from me, or anyone, can fill the silence in your homes tonight. I won’t pretend otherwise.
“But I and the leaders of all the federal parties wanted you to hear — not from Ottawa, not through a screen — but standing together here in your town, we wanted you to hear that Canadians are with you. We will always be with you.”
Carney travelled to the small northeastern mining town along with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and the leaders of the federal opposition parties to mark one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history.
Eight people were killed, including five children and an educator at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, whose names Carney read out and shared stories about. He offered prayers for Jennifer and Emmett Jacobs, the mother and stepbrother of the shooter who were also killed, as well as the two young victims still recovering at BC Children’s Hospital.
The prime minister later tied the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge to the 1989 mass shooting at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, and noted that one of the women wounded that day, Nathalie Provost, went on to become an advocate and engineer and is now an MP in the House of Commons.
“I share her story not because healing is simple. It’s not,” he said. “Not because there is a timeline for your grief — there isn’t.
“But Nathalie Provost is proof — living, breathing proof — that it is possible to endure the unendurable. That the horror of what happened doesn’t have to be the end of what’s to come.”
Premier vows 'safe place' for school
B.C. Premier David Eby spoke in detail about the frightening events of Tuesday’s shooting at the high school, sharing the story of a teacher who made the decision to lock his son, who was in the washroom, outside of his classroom during a lockdown.
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Eby praised the bravery of that teacher and his son, as well as the students in that class for taking care of two younger kids who had been pulled into the room.
“I hope I’m never called on to do what they had to do,” he said. “But having spent a couple days here now in Tumbler Ridge, I can tell you that what they did is is emblematic of this town.
“In those heroic actions are the seeds of the recovery of this community. Because the future of Tumbler Ridge is in that school. We know that.”
The premier promised the students of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School that “not one of you will ever be forced to go back to that school.”
“We will provide a safe place for you to go to school,” he said.
“Things are going to be different, but there are going to be things that are familiar. And one of those things is the courage and the bravery and the amazing kids, the students, the young adults, the people of Tumbler Ridge.”
'A lasting mark'
Simon said the children lost in the shooting “made a lasting mark on this community and on the lives they touched,” and thanked the educators and first responders who helped those affected.
“I cannot fathom the depth of your sorrow, or the shock, the fear and horror you have endured,” the governor general said.
“To the wider community know this there is no right or wrong or wrong way to grieve.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre thanked Carney for his “grace” in bringing all parties together as “mothers and fathers,” and expressed gratitude to the families and community members he met with in “this incredible town.”
“We are a nation with a broken heart. But we are also a nation with open arms, and those arms wrap all of the people of Tumbler Ridge in love. We are all today Tumbler Ridge strong,” he said.
“Some might call these ordinary people, but there is nothing ordinary about the people in this town. You are extraordinary. And to all those who have lost, we remember your loved ones.”
B.C. Lt.-Gov. Wendy Cocchia urged the community to remain connected and supportive of each other through grief.
“Remember please that you do not grieve alone,” she said. “Grief is not something that passes quickly. It’s painful and it’s a slow process. It moves at its own pace. But please, when you feel it, do not retreat. Do not withdraw. Stay engaged and please stay connected with one another.”
The federal, provincial and local officials walked out to the vigil as the crowd sang “O Canada,” joining the families of the victims behind the podium.
The vigil began with a moment of silence in honour of the victims.
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka paid tribute to local residents who helped organize the first community vigil on Wednesday, and to all those who travelled to the town from across the country.
“In the days since this tragedy, we have seen heartbreak, but we’ve also seen extraordinary compassion and courage,” the mayor said. “Neighbors checking in on neighbors. Strangers offering help. Leaders from across our province and country standing with us. That is what tonight is about.
“We are a small community, but we are a strong community. We are a family, and in moments like this, families come together.”
Earlier in the day, the prime minister, his wife Diana Fox Carney, the local member of Parliament Bob Zimmer and the party leaders — Poilievre, Bloc Québecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, NDP interim leader Don Davies and Green Party MP Elizabeth May — each laid flowers at a memorial honouring the eight people killed.
The group held a moment of silence after laying their flowers.
The Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday said Carney would travel to Tumbler Ridge at the mayor’s invitation, and extended his invitation to the federal party leaders, who all accepted.
“”I think it’s important to have all of the parties together,” Eby told Global News in an interview Friday ahead of the vigil.
“For all of us to be together and say, look, you can put your own political agenda onto this tragedy, whatever it is, but it’s not about that. It’s about these families and this community. It’s about standing together with them and making sure they’re looked after. And that is a very powerful message, even without saying anything. And for a politician to send a message without saying anything, it sounds good on a day like today.”
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who is leading the federal response to the shooting, and Housing Minister Gregor Robertson travelled to the community on Wednesday to provide support to local and provincial officials. They attended a community vigil Wednesday evening that was attended by hundreds of residents.
Carney and federal party leaders delivered statements in the House of Commons on Wednesday, after MPs held a moment of silence in honour of the victims.
MPs from all parties have been signing a book of condolences that has been placed in the House of Commons. The condolence book will be delivered to the community by Zimmer, the MP for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, after Feb. 17.
“There’s been countless offers from across the country to help and there’s been so many that it’s just difficult to manage all that information,” Zimmer told Global News in an interview Thursday.
“You’re talking about a little community of about 2,500 people, and all of a sudden the whole, it seems, world is saying, ‘How can we help?'”
— with files from Global’s Ariel Rabinovitch
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