Dear --

By now, you may have heard about the security incident that occurred at my Community Office in North Vancouver. I wanted to address it directly, given the high level of interest in this situation.

I'm grateful for the outpouring of support from community members and people across BC, including MLAs from all sides of the House. I feel extremely fortunate to serve such a caring and compassionate community. I also thank the officers who responded for their diligence and professionalism. No one was injured and my staff, my family, and I are okay.

The RCMP have been taking the incident seriously, and I have full confidence in their ability to conduct a thorough investigation. Their Explosives Disposal Unit was on the scene today, and their Serious Crimes Unit is engaged. It is still early in the investigation, and I want to encourage everyone to avoid engaging in speculation at this time. You can watch the RCMP's latest update here.

Regardless of intent or motivation, I know that incidents like this can be very frightening for a community. My staff and I will be working with the Legislative Assembly's security team to ensure that our office can continue to provide a safe and secure environment from which to serve community members. We want every member of our community to feel safe and welcome when they come into our office for help or to provide us with feedback and advice.

Please know that my office and I continue to be here to support you. We will be keeping the Community Office physically closed to the public through Monday and Tuesday, and will provide further updates when available. However, North Vancouver-Lonsdale residents can continue to reach us by email and phone.

--Bowinn Ma, MLA
North Vancouver-Lonsdale