Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his respect for the victims of Wednesday’s incident fatal bus accident in a Montreal-area daycare In the Candle March on Thursday evening.
Trudeau spoke with dozens of other well-wishers who gathered outside the Eglise Catholic Sainte-Rose in falling snow. levelJust north of Montreal, where hundreds gathered to honor the two four-year-olds who died in the crash.
Speaking to reporters alongside Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer, Trudeau offered his support to the families of the victims, first responders who attended the scene of the attack, and mourned the “stupidity” of the tragedy.
“This is a moment to reflect on the incredible loss that families are feeling right now, on the hundreds of thousands of parents who dropped their children off at daycares across the country this morning,” Trudeau said.
“All we can do is be there for each other.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Laval Mayor Stephen Boyer attend a vigil at a church near the site of a daycare center where a city bus crashed into the building in Laval, Que., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Later two children had lost their lives. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks to a man as he attends a vigil at a church near the site of a daycare center where two people died after a city bus crashed in Laval, Ky., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. The children had lost their lives. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes.
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A shrine of candles, flowers and stuffed animals had already been erected at the doors of the church, where Trudeau placed a bouquet of flowers. Similar memorials had popped up at other sites near the crime scene by Thursday morning, and grew larger throughout the day.
The flag is flown at half-mast on some public buildings, including the Quebec provincial legislature and the Peace Tower in Ottawa.
Six other children injured in the accident have been admitted to the hospital.
Hospital officials said in a statement that two of the four patients taken to Montreal’s Saint-Justine Children’s Hospital were discharged Thursday morning. Two others are in a “favourable” condition of health, he added. Two other children injured in the attack are undergoing treatment at Laval Hospital.
People mourn after a city bus crashed into a church near the site of a day care center where two children lost their lives, in Laval, Que., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes.
People light a candle at a church near the site of a daycare center in Laval, Que., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, where two children lost their lives after a city bus crashed. The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes.
Two children lost their lives after a city bus crashed into a church near the site of a daycare center in Laval, Que., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.
The incident happened on Wednesday morning when a bus crashed in front of the Garderie Educational Ste-Rose Daycare in Laval.
Pierre N. Saint-Amand, a 51-year-old driver with the Laval Transit Corporation, was arrested at the scene and later charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as seven other charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault .
The authorities have not yet spoken about the motive behind the attack. Speaking to reporters in Quebec City on Thursday, Francois Bonnardel, the province’s minister of public security, said the motive was “incomprehensible.”
Earlier Thursday, Quebec Premier Francois Legault and other political leaders visited the neighborhood where the crash occurred and offered support to families and daycare workers affected by the tragedy.
Legault urged people to take advantage of mental health support, including children and staff inside the daycare when the accident happened, calling it important and necessary.
on Wednesday, House of Commons observed a moment of silence for the victims. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre opened the day’s question hour by asking Trudeau in French what support the federal government was providing to those affected in Quebec.
Trudeau said all Canadians are thinking of the families affected in Laval.
“Our hearts go out to them, nothing can erase the pain and suffering these families and communities are going through right now,” Trudeau said, speaking in French.
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“We will be there to support them in the days and months and years to come as they go through this unimaginable pain.”
Trudeau thanked first responders who were called to the scene and offered help to those involved.
“We will continue to keep them close to our hearts and in our prayers,” Trudeau said during his remarks to the House of Commons.
-With files from Teresa Wright and The Canadian Press
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