March 10, 2026.

Commissioner Mike Duheme Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Dear Commissioner Duheme,

Today marks one month since the tragic mass shooting at the school in Tumbler Ridge which took the lives of eight innocent people, including six children. As leading advocates for gun violence prevention in Canada, we are alarmed and disappointed that the RCMP has not yet disclosed basic information about the models and legal status of the firearms used, given the potential for this information to strengthen public safety and prevent more mass shootings in Canada.

As gun control historian R. Blake Brown wrote in this recent opinion piece, published in The Globe and Mail on March 9, 2026, “keeping this information from the public prevents important debates about Canada’s gun control regime”.

The RCMP’s reputation and public trust were significantly damaged by the force’s handling of the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting. Among the failures by the force cited in the Mass Casualty Commission final March 2023 report was an institutional mindset that “undervalues community relationships” as well as “senior leadership’s initial refusal to admit mistakes”.

We urge you and all members of the RCMP to demonstrate that the lessons learned from Nova Scotia are being applied to the Tumbler Ridge investigation, that is, by being transparent with the public about the guns used in this school shooting – information Canadians expect and deserve.

Respectfully, we ask you to confirm:

1. When will the RCMP release information about the models of guns used in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting? The RCMP has this information and there is no discernible reason to not immediately disclose it.
2. When will the RCMP release what they know about the legal status and source of the guns used in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting? Unlike the model of the guns used, precise information regarding the trajectory of non-restricted firearms is likely not readily available, given the 2012 dismantling of the long gun registry and the obstacles associated with access to commercial sales records that accompanied their reintroduction in 2019 under (former) Bill C-71. This being said, the validity of someone’s PAL (Possession and Acquisition Licence) is a worthy indicator of the legality of nonrestricted firearms under the licensee’s control.
3. If this information is not disclosed by the end of this month, what is the public safety rationale for further delaying the release of this essential information?

Details related to the reasons that firearms were removed from the home and the justifications to return them are also of great interest to the victims’ families and the public.

Releasing verified information now – at the very least regarding the firearms used – will strengthen citizens’ trust and confidence in the RCMP. Also, it may well help prevent more mass shootings and gun violence in communities across Canada.

Respectfully,

Heidi Rathjen, PolySeSouvient

with Brian Sweeney, Angies Angels

Dr Najma Ahmed, Canadian Doctors for Protection Against Guns

Ken Price, Danforth Families for Safe Communities

Boufeldja Benabdallah, Quebec Mosque