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As MPs entered West Block Wednesday morning to attend their respective weekly caucus meetings, emotions were running high, including from Prime Minister Mark Carney who made his first tearful comments.
"It's obviously a very difficult day for the nation. This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you," Carney said.
The prime minister went on to note a number of world leaders had reached out to him directly, confirmed the federal government would offer "all assistance," to the community.
"We thank the first responders, the teachers, the staff, the residents, for everything that they've done in this terrible situation," the prime minister said.
He also told reporters he'd ordered flags on the Peace Tower and across all government buildings to be flown at half-mast for seven days.
Later, the House gathered to observe a moment of silence, and hear special remarks from all party leaders, before agreeing to adjourn the sitting for the day.
Rising to speak following the prime minister, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre thanked Carney for "his eloquent words, which I am sure are words he never wanted to deliver on the floor of this chamber."
"Yesterday, as we were tucking our kids in, I got a terrible phone call from the member of Parliament who represents Tumbler Ridge, telling me that a shooting had occurred and though the details were not yet well known, it was going to be bad," Poilievre said.
"As a father, I can only imagine the phone call or visit that brought the news, the panic, the helplessness and 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. To the families who have lost loved ones, there are no words that can comfort or verses that can console."
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, then made the rare choice to speak in English, saying he was making an exception so he could "speak directly" to the families and offer British Columbians his "deepest condolences."
Interim NDP Leader Don Davies and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May also spoke, extending their support to the families in mourning.
I was sitting in the viewing gallery during these speeches and noticed parliamentary pages walking behind the curtains looking to see who may need tissues. MPs were also passing boxes around.
As soon as the proceedings ended, a congregation of MPs from all parties gathered in the middle aisle, hugging each other and shaking hands, Carney among them. There was also a line of MPs of all stripes waiting to offer comfort to Poilievre.
The last MP to go and speak with Poilievre was Bruce Fanjoy, the Liberal MP who un-seated him last year. It was a remarkable moment, showing the best of Parliament Hill, on one of the worst days.
This cross-aisle sentiment of collegiality continued through the week, as evidenced by Carney inviting the leaders of all federal parties to accompany him on Friday to attend a vigil happening in the small B.C. town. All accepted.
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| The heartbreaking tragedy also altered considerably how Carney was planning on spending the week.
As news of the scale of the violence was breaking late Tuesday night, the word came from the prime minister's office that his travel overseas – set for the next day – were on hold. By daybreak Wednesday, that suspension became a cancellation, seeing his planned Halifax announcement of a new defence industrial strategy put on ice.
Carney then announced that three federal cabinet ministers, who were already planning to accompany Carney at the Munich Security Conference, would be attending in his stead: National Defence Minister David McGuinty, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon.
I was gearing up to travel to Munich as part of the delegation covering Carney's trip and had dove into all the details of the conference, from the big topics to what was going to be the elephant in the room. If you're curious what the ministers are getting up to in the Bavarian city this weekend, grab a coffee and dive in.
But before we move on to other news, here's the parliamentarian who represents the riding that includes Tumbler Ridge, Conservative MP Bob Zimmer, reflecting on the best of the community, in his own words:
"It's this beautiful little community that, I worked there as a kid, it was a coal town, so it was really built out of the wilderness into this almost Disneyland-looking community and it's lasted through downturns in the economy, but it's really resilient."
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