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.

Nine 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.

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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.

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.