Trudeau, Wynne react to Toronto van incident

CTV National News: A growing memorial A makeshift memorial continues to grow in Toronto as the city remembers those killed in a van attack. Genevieve Beauchemin reports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other politicians took to social media Monday to offer thoughts and prayers for the victims after a van mowed down pedestrians near Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in Toronto.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by the terrible incident,” wrote Trudeau in a tweet. “Thank you to the first responders working at the scene – we're monitoring the situation closely.”

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne assured Ontarians that all levels of government and police services are working together to investigate the incident and expressed her shock at the incident.

“We are all unsettled and very disturbed by a situation like this. I think it’s impossible not to be. It’s frightening,” she said.

Toronto’s mayor John Tory was on his way to the scene near Mel Lastman Square when he sent out a statement on Twitter. At a press conference shortly after he expressed his “profound condolences.”

“In times like this we rely on our first responders to do the job that they’re there to do for us. And I can assure you… we are very well served,” he said. “This is a time when this community should come together. These are not the kinds of things that we expect to happen in this city. We hope they don’t happen anywhere in the world, but we especially don’t expect them to happen in Toronto.”

Speaking to reporters from the scene of the incident, the president of the Toronto Police Association Mike McCormack said that authorities had imagined an incident like this might happen in Toronto at some point.

“We were concerned that there would be an incident like this eventually in the city of Toronto and unfortunately that day is here. We’re just trying to make sure that our officers and first responders get through this,” he said, calling it a “horrific” scene. “It’s something I don’t think anybody can be prepared for. I’ve talked to every officer, the entire scene, and all of them are just in shock from what they’re seeing. It’s a horrible day for the city of Toronto.”

Toronto city councillor John Filion, who represents the ward where the incident occurred, told CP24 that his community is struggling to “come to grips” with what happened.

“Whatever happened here is not at all part of what our country or our city or our community stands for,” he said. “We have a very multicultural, multi-ethnic community here and everybody lives together very harmoniously. We have very little crime in this area, so to have a mass murder is really just unthinkable.”

Federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer also took to Twitter on behalf of his party. “Deepest sympathies and condolences of our entire Conservative Caucus and all Parliamentarians are with the community as this situation continues to develop,” he wrote.

Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford sent his thoughts and thanked the teams handling the medical situation on Yonge Street. “Thank you to the brave EMS and first responders who are working tirelessly to help,” he wrote.

Federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh tweeted that his thoughts were with those affected in the “horrific” incident.

At a press conference relating to the 2018 G7 summit, both Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, commented on the incident.

“Police are doing their very best as rapidly as possible to identify precisely what has taken place here, and why. But it is obviously a very serious incident,” said Goodale, who also tweeted about his admiration for the first responders.

Freeland echoed Goodale’s comments and added her own condolences to those impacted. “All of our hearts go out to the people hurt in this incident, and to their families and loved ones,” she said.