If I may, I wouldn't characterize it as a coincidence. The prohibition of assault-style rifles, for me, has been a very important goal since the mass shooting in Sandy Hook, where 22 little kids got killed. There have been numerous mass shootings involving these weapons since. In Canada, I've been to the funerals of the police officers who were killed in Moncton and in Fredericton and in Mayerthorpe. I've also attended a number of vigils for the worshippers who were killed at the mosque in Quebec City and at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Every year I've attended vigils for the women who were killed at École polytechnique.
When there was a mass shooting in Nova Scotia, we had been working for several months, years in fact, in compiling the list of the weapons to be prohibited. We were working with the Canadian firearms program and others in developing that list. I had gun consultations across the country. When that mass murder took place in Nova Scotia, for me it was the last straw. It deepened my resolve. We had to act, and we acted. It wasn't a coincidence, but neither was it exploiting that terrible tragedy. It was responding to that terrible tragedy and saying “never again”.