Eby says explosive 'deliberately' set outside BC minister's office

National Observer

5 hours ago

An explosive device damaged and blasted open the front door of British Columbia Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma's office on Friday morning, police said, and they are investigating whether the "jarring incident" was linked to an earlier blast nearby.
While politicians decried the explosion at Ma's constituency office in North Vancouver — with interim federal NDP leader Don Davies calling it a "blatant act of terror"— neither Ma nor Cpl. Mansoor Sahak with North Vancouver RCMP gave any indication of the possible motive.
"I don't know if it's politically motivated. We're not calling it that, but we're investigating all possible avenues at this point," Sahak told a news briefing.
Sahak said the 4:15 a.m. blast "breached the door and damaged the door frame."
He said the blast was "indicative of an explosive device detonation" and no one was injured.
'This was a jarring incident that undoubtedly startled sleeping residents in the area,' said Sahak.
Scorch marks were visible on the door at the office where there was a heavy police presence Friday afternoon.
Ma said in statement that she was "grateful for the outpouring of support from community members and people across B.C., including MLAs from all sides of the House."
"My staff, my family, and I are okay," Ma said.
She said police are taking the incident seriously, and she had "full confidence in their ability to conduct a thorough investigation."
Ma's constituency office on West Esplanade Street, not far from the Lonsdale Quay Seabus station, was cordoned off with police tape as investigators examined the damaged door.
People who work in the building said Friday afternoon they were unaware of what occurred, and building management sent out an email about media coverage of the reported explosion without any additional information.
Sahak said a previous explosion had been heard in the nearby 100 block of West 1st Avenue at 2:45 a.m. and police were looking into whether the blasts were connected.
But no residue of the earlier explosion was found and Sahak said it wasn't known "if it was an explosive device or a firecracker or anything."
Premier David Eby said police told him an explosive device had been "deliberately set" at Ma's office.
He said the incident was "profoundly concerning" and struck at the heart of how elected officials performed their duties.
"I am deeply concerned about trend lines, which basically mean an increasing separation of elected officials from the people they're meant to serve, which doesn't benefit anybody at all," Eby told an unrelated news conference.
Eby said a "routine safety review" was being conducted for all MLA offices across the province, through the legislature's Sergeant-at-Arms.
Sahak said police were seeking witnesses who were in North Vancouver near West Esplanade Avenue or who may have captured dashcam or CCTV footage from 2:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. on Friday.
Ma said all meetings and appointments at the office had been cancelled for the day.
"Thankfully, nobody was injured, but incidents like this can be quite frightening," she wrote.
Ma didn't describe the incident and said that due to the active police investigation, she would not be able to provide more details about what happened, although she wanted to thank the officers who responded.
"I appreciate the concern expressed by community members and am grateful to serve such a caring and compassionate community," she said.
NDP leader Davies said on social media that he was "deeply alarmed" by the incident.
"This blatant act of terror is an affront to democracy and has no place in our nation. We are grateful no one was hurt and hope those responsible are apprehended as soon as possible," Davies wrote.
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said on social media that all members of the legislature "must stand with NDP MLA Bowinn Ma and her constituency office staff."
"The idea that someone would set off a device to damage or somehow threaten an MLA's (constituency) office is deeply concerning," he said.
City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan said in a statement that the explosion "understandably caused concern in our community and I know residents may feel alarmed and uneasy. "
She said the city is working with police as they investigate "all possible avenues," and said she is grateful to people who called police to report the blast.