Habs star Carey Price says he was aware of Polytechnique shooting, despite previous comments
Montreal Canadiens star goalie Carey Price reversed course and said he did in fact know about the 1989 Polytechnique shooting spree that killed 14 women in Montreal despite previous comments from Groupe CH that he didn't.
He also apologized to those that may have been upset by his comments made on Instagram against the proposed federal gun legislation.
"Despite a previous statement released, I did in fact know about the tragedy," Price wrote in an Instagram story.
"I have been a member of the MTL community for 15 years and I understand the weight this day holds within the community."
Dec. 6 is the anniversary of the mass killing and there are events throughout Montreal commemorating the day and honouring the victims.
Price said his "heart and prayers" are with the families of the victims, and regrets the timing of the amendment to Bill C-21.
"I acknowledge that amplifying any conversation around guns this week may have upset some of those impacted most by the events here in 1989 and to them I apologize," he said.
Price's post on Instagram came after many gun-control advocates were incensed at the national gun rights organization, the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR), use of the tragedy to sell merchandise on its website with the promo code "POLY."
Price said he didn't agree with the gun group's promo-code.
The Canadiens tweeted Monday before the team's game against the Vancouver Canucks a response to Price's comments that he didn't know about the mass shooting.
"The Montreal Canadiens wish to express their sincere apology to any and all who have been offended or upset by discourse that has arisen over this matter in recent days," the Habs said.
The Canadiens added that they made a donation to the Week of the White Rose campaign to send underprivileged girls to Polytechnique's summer science camp.
REACTIONS FROM QUEBEC POLITICIANS
The leaders of Quebec's political parties shared their reactions to the Price controversy Tuesday, including the interim Liberal Leader, Marc Tanguay, who said the goalie showed "poor" judgment with his online post.
The timing of it, he said, was also in poor taste, he told a press scrum Tuesday at the national assembly.
The co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire (QS) went further in her condemnation of Price.
"When you support an organization that uses a hashtag of the greatest femicide drama that Quebec has known in its history, I find it really inappropriate, indecent," said Manon Massé.
"Let's stop trivializing violence, let's stop protecting people, let's stop hiding the fact that misogyny, violence against women, femicides have common roots," she said, adding that she as "very disappointed by this."
Quebec Solidaire member Manon Masse questions the government, Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Francis Vachon
Massé said the controversy is another reminder of why the annual commemoration of the attack is necessary.
Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was less critical of the hockey player Tuesday, calling on people to "leave Carey Price alone" and to focus on the groups that have used him.
"The time we spend criticizing Carey Price, whose job ... is to stop pucks, we aren't spending it to criticize groups that have probably manipulated a hockey player by not giving him all the information," he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.