Police quarantine staffers after package delivered to government building

Police have given the all-clear after evacuating a government building in Gatineau, Que. on Thursday.

A suspicious package was delivered that reportedly contained a corrosive substance. Analysis of the substance later revealed it to be harmless, police said in a statement issued around 3 p.m. ET.

One employee was taken to hospital as a precaution after coming into direct contact with the package, but reports that the person had suffered burns proved unfounded. There were no injuries.

The building, located at 70 Rue Cremazie in Gatineau, was evacuated late Thursday morning. It houses roughly 1,500 federal employees including those from the Public Service Alliance of Canada, among other organizations.

This is the second time a suspicious package has been received in that building in the last year.

The people on the floor where the package was opened were initially quarantined on that floor, officials said. Everyone else was led outside, and the street closed to traffic.

A hazardous materials team from Ottawa was also dispatched to the scene; colloquially known as the ‘bomb squad,’ the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Operations Section is a joint team of the Ottawa Police Service and the RCMP.

It responds to incidents believed to involve any of those types of materials.

“It’s a unit that’s combined with specialty trades, which is the CBRNE. Anything that has to do with chemicals, explosives,” said Ottawa police Const. Chuck Benoit.

After getting the all-clear, Gatineau police said they took the package into evidence, to assist in their investigation into the incident.