Mr. Speaker, I want to offer comfort to the families who lost their loved ones so tragically, so cruelly and so suddenly in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., but I am at a loss for words. They have all been said.
What can I say to ease the pain of a parent who will never again see or hug their child, watch them grow or share with them the ordinary joys and sorrows of daily life? As a mother, my heart breaks for those years lost forever. What can I say to heal the wounds of a community that once lived in trust and may now be guarded? What can I say to the families who keep vigil by the bedside of the injured, hoping and praying, or to the traumatized children for whom school was once a place to play, learn and feel safe?
Words have become trite. Thoughts and prayers are not enough.
We in the House can honour the lives lost in Tumbler Ridge. We can ensure that this tragedy will never happen again to other families, other children and other communities. We have the tools and the power to make that pledge. We must now find the courage.