'There are no words': Laval daycare bus crash prompts outpouring of condolences on Parliament Hill
'There are no words': Laval daycare bus crash prompts outpouring of condolences on Parliament Hill
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
As of 5:15 p.m. ET, two children are dead and six others are in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. According to police, the 51-year-old bus driver has been arrested and is facing first-degree murder, attempted murder, and assault charges.
"I can't imagine what the families of the kids who were killed and indeed the ones who were seriously injured are going through right now," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, appearing emotional on his way into the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, when news of the crash first broke, Trudeau expressed hope that "the kids are alright, or that they pull through and get well soon."
"I know there are no words for parents who have lost their children this way. All Canadians are grieving with them, and we'll do whatever we can to support them in horrific pain through the coming days and months and years of grief," said Trudeau.
Inside the House of Commons, MPs throughout the chamber rose and bowed their heads as a moment of silence was held on Wednesday afternoon.
Asking for compassion for Laval residents as more information about the cause of the crash emerges, and as those injured start to heal, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet rose in the House to express his condolences.
"The hearts of all parents in Quebec stopped today when they learned what happened in Laval," Blanchet said. "Our hearts go out to all parents, children and staff of the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose. We thank the first responders, nursing staff, and all those who mobilized at this time to help but the little ones. Today the nation of Quebec is in mourning. Our hearts are with all those in the community of Laval."
Taking to social media to speak about what he called a "violent bus attack," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he was "heartbroken."
"My heart goes out to the family members who lost loved ones and those injured in this tragedy. No parent should ever worry about the safety of their child," Poilievre said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called it a "horrific tragedy."
"I don't have the words to express how horrible it is, I just want to acknowledge the first responders and send my thoughts to the families of the victims," Singh told reporters in the House foyer.
"As a parent, as a mom, you can't imagine dropping your child off at daycare and having something like this happen. So I just wanted to express my condolences and of course to express my gratitude to those who responded so quickly on the frontlines to this horrible, horrible tragedy," said Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould on her way into question period.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said his thoughts go to the children, their families, and the daycare staff, speaking to how these facilities are supposed to be places where children can feel safe.
"This is obviously a very shocking and horrifying and traumatic moment," Mendicino said. "I do want to take a moment to thank local police for acting very, very quickly. They've apprehended the suspect and, and that is a good thing."
Directing questions about the investigation to local law enforcement, Mendicino said that as more is learned about what transpired, "it's important at this moment to offer whatever assistance that we can."
Mendicino said that he's reached out to his Liberal colleague Yves Robillard, whose Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, Que., riding is where the crash took place, to offer "whatever support that we can."
Stopping briefly to speak to reporters, Robillard said that while there is limited information, what's transpired is "really terrible."
Laval-Les Iles, Que. Liberal MP Faycal El-Khoury said that he will do everything in his power to provide comfort and services to his constituents.
"We have to have their backs and we have to be present on the ground with them," he said.
"We find it terrible… it's a crazy event, and our thoughts are with the families," said Conservative MP for Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles, Que., Pierre Paul-Hus.
Conservative MP for Louis-Saint-Laurent, Que., Gerard Deltell, said that as a father the situation was "very tough," and that his thoughts and prayers are with those impacted.
U.S. President Joe Biden heads north next week for his first visit to Canada as president. Ahead of the visit, both countries are laying out a wide range of potential topics spanning from migration policy to continuing support for Ukraine.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
Canada's restaurant industry is bracing for the biggest jump in the country's alcohol excise duty in more than 40 years, spurring warnings the tax hike could force some bars and restaurants out of business.
Children and teens in Utah would lose access to social media apps such as TikTok if they don't have parental consent and face other restrictions under a first-in-the-nation law designed to shield young people from the addictive platforms.
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
U.S. President Joe Biden lands in Canada for a 27-hour visit, opposition MPs vote to affirm calls for a public inquiry into allegations of election interference and five boys are rescued after getting lost in a New York City storm drain tunnel. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Gwyneth Paltrow and the man who broke four ribs after the two collided at a Utah ski resort seven years ago are both expected to testify on Friday in a trial over his claims that the movie star's recklessness caused his concussion and lasting physical injuries.
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
Canada's restaurant industry is bracing for the biggest jump in the country's alcohol excise duty in more than 40 years, spurring warnings the tax hike could force some bars and restaurants out of business.
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
A Victoria man’s life of crime has turned into one of survival, hope and advocacy amid ongoing conversations in the community about how best to tackle public safety matters.
Protesters angry at French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms continued with scattered actions on Friday, as the unrest across the country led officials to postpone a planned state visit by King Charles III.
Saudi Arabia is in talks with Syria to reopen its embassy in the war-torn nation for the first time in a decade, state television in the kingdom reported late Thursday, the latest diplomatic reshuffling in the region.
A strike Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. American forces said they retaliated soon after with 'precision airstrikes' in Syria targeting facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
North Korea claimed Friday to have tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to generate a gigantic 'radioactive tsunami' that would destroy naval strike groups and ports. Analysts were skeptical that the device presents a major new threat, but the test underlines the North's commitment to raising nuclear threats.
A top Russian security official warned Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany.
China threatened 'serious consequences' Friday after the U.S. Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security.
U.S. President Joe Biden has arrived in Canada, kicking off his short but long-awaited overnight official visit to Canada. The official itinerary has just been released; here's everything you need to know about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.
The United States' first lady will be given a sweeping introduction to Canadian sports culture in Ottawa today as Sophie Gregoire Trudeau takes Jill Biden to the curling rink.
For the first time, autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children than in white kids in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Manitoba's largest hospital has brought in reinforcements following the resignation of several nurses from a provincial program that serves sexual assault victims.
A Victoria man’s life of crime has turned into one of survival, hope and advocacy amid ongoing conversations in the community about how best to tackle public safety matters.
Children and teens in Utah would lose access to social media apps such as TikTok if they don't have parental consent and face other restrictions under a first-in-the-nation law designed to shield young people from the addictive platforms.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump getting gang-tackled by riot-gear-clad New York City police officers. Russian President Vladimir Putin in prison greys behind the bars of a dimly lit concrete cell.
U.S. lawmakers grilled the CEO of TikTok over data security and harmful content Thursday, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned.
Gwyneth Paltrow and the man who broke four ribs after the two collided at a Utah ski resort seven years ago are both expected to testify on Friday in a trial over his claims that the movie star's recklessness caused his concussion and lasting physical injuries.
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will resign next month after a US$3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw.
United States President Joe Biden is staying in Ottawa on his short trip north of the border, but the catering team from the National Arts Centre plans to take him on a cross-country culinary tour Friday evening.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
World Athletics has banned transgender women from competing in elite female competitions if they have gone through male puberty, the sport's governing body said on Thursday.
More than 50 current and former Canadian fencers have joined a growing call for a Canadian judicial inquiry on maltreatment in sport, saying the fear of retribution has kept them silent for nearly 20 years on fencing's toxic culture and abusive practices.
California lawmakers on Thursday will vote on whether to allow penalties on oil companies for price gouging at the pump, a first-in-the-country proposal aimed at stopping the kind of spikes last summer that caused some drivers pay up to US$8 per gallon as the industry reaped super-sized profits.
The Chevrolet Camaro, for decades the dream car of many teenage American males, is going out of production. General Motors, which sells the brawny muscle car, said Wednesday it will stop making the current generation early next year.
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering can stick, causing a momentary increase in effort and increasing the risk of a crash.
