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February 2026 - Minaz Jivraj My Take: Beyond Grief: What Tumbler Ridge Demands from Canada’s School Safety System

  • Feb 11
  • 8 min read

I have served as the Chief Security Officer for a large school district in Ontario for twenty-eight years, now retired. I have walked through schools at dawn before students arrive. I have stood beside principals during lockdowns. I have debriefed with police after weapons seizures. I have been with parents who were terrified; not because something had already happened, but because they feared it might.

When I read the recent article describing the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, and its framing as a “national wake-up call,” I did not see rhetoric. I saw a pattern.


The grief is real. The shock is real. But the deeper issue is not shock; it is repetition.

Canada has long comforted itself with the belief that school shootings are an American problem. Our rates are lower. Our gun laws are stricter. Our culture is different. Yet history tells us that we are not immune. We never have been.


If we treat Tumbler Ridge as an isolated catastrophe, we will fail again. However, if we understand it as part of a trajectory; rare but recurring, preventable in part, devastating in full, we may yet change course.


Canada’s Record: Rare, But Not Random

School shootings in Canada are infrequent compared to the United States, but they are not unprecedented. And they are not random lightning strikes detached from warning signals.


In 1975, at Brampton Centennial Secondary School in Ontario, a 16-year-old student opened fire, killing a teacher and injuring others. The event remains one of the earliest documented modern school shootings in Canada. (See: “Brampton Centennial shooting,” Wikipedia, which provides a summary of the incident and references to archival reporting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brampton_Centennial_Secondary_School_shooting)


In 1989, the École Polytechnique massacre in Montréal shocked the country. Although it was a university, not a K–12 school, the event, where 14 women were murdered; transformed Canada’s national conversation about firearms and gender-based violence. (See: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/polytechnique-tragedy and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre)


In 1999, W.R. Myers High School in Taber, Alberta, experienced a shooting that killed one student and injured another. The perpetrator was a 14-year-old student. Taber occurred just eight days after Columbine in the United States, yet it received comparatively limited long-term policy focus. (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._R._Myers_High_School_shooting)


In 2006, Dawson College in Montréal became the site of another mass shooting. One student was killed and 19 others injured before police shot the attacker. (See: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dawson-college-shooting and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_College_shooting)


In 2016, La Loche Community School in Saskatchewan experienced a shooting that left four people dead and seven injured. The perpetrator had killed two brothers before going to the school. (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Loche_shootings)

Each of these events differed in motive and context. But they shared characteristics that those of us in school safety and security recognize:

  • Leakage of warning signals (threats, online posts, statements to peers)

  • Social isolation or grievance narratives

  • Gaps in information sharing

  • Delays in early intervention

 

These were not unforeseeable in principle. They were failures of integration; between mental health, family systems, school awareness, and law enforcement intelligence.

The Tumbler Ridge article argues that Canada must stop treating such tragedies as “one-offs.” On that point, I agree completely.


The Myth of “Normal Mode”

One phrase in the article resonated deeply: the system is operating in “normal mode” while the environment is not normal.


In Ontario, we track incident data annually; weapon possession, uttering threats, serious assaults, gang-related recruitment attempts. Over the past decade, the numbers have fluctuated, but the complexity of cases has increased. More online threats. More digital humiliation campaigns. More youth entangled in adult criminal ecosystems.

The environment has changed in three critical ways:

  1. Digital Acceleration - Conflicts that once simmered in hallways now escalate on social media within minutes if not within seconds.

  2. Hybridized Intimidation - Street-level criminal actors increasingly recruit or pressure youth near school boundaries.

  3. Psychological Contagion - Media saturation can amplify notoriety-seeking behaviour among vulnerable individuals.

 

Schools, however, are still largely structured around reactive discipline models developed decades ago. Lockdown drills exist. Emergency binders exist. But drills do not equal prevention. Policies do not equal coordination. When the article calls for an “emergency posture,” I interpret that not as panic, but as governance alignment.


What the Evidence Shows About Prevention

Research consistently demonstrates that targeted school violence is usually preceded by warning behaviours. The U.S. Secret Service’s threat assessment research; often referenced internationally, found that most school attackers communicated intent or exhibited concerning behaviours prior to the attack. (See: U.S. Secret Service, “Protecting America’s Schools,” 2019: https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2020-04/Protecting_Americas_Schools.pdf)


While this is U.S. data, Canadian practitioners rely on similar behavioural threat assessment models. In fact, Canadian scholar Dr. J. Kevin Cameron has been instrumental in advancing threat assessment protocols across Canadian school districts.


The core lesson: we must move from profiling to pathway analysis. Not “Who looks dangerous?” but “What behaviours indicate movement toward violence?”

The article’s emphasis on early warning systems aligns with established threat assessment best practices:

  • Multidisciplinary teams (administration, psychology, law enforcement liaison)

  • Clear reporting pathways

  • Rapid evaluation of threats

  • Intervention that supports, not simply punishes

 

It is a accepted fact that school boards/districts, when implementing structured threat assessment approximately 15 years ago, suspension rates for violent threats initially increased, because reporting improved. However, within three years, actual weapon-related incidents declined.

That is not coincidence. That is capacity.


Lessons from Taber and La Loche

The Taber shooting in 1999 occurred in a small Alberta town, much like Tumbler Ridge. Communities often assume size equals safety. It does not. In smaller communities, social networks are tighter, but stigma can silence reporting. Everyone knows everyone. That can discourage disclosure.


The La Loche tragedy in 2016 underscored another dimension: intergenerational trauma and mental health gaps. The subsequent inquest highlighted the importance of culturally responsive supports and stronger coordination between agencies. (See summary reporting and case overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Loche_shootings)


When tragedies occur in rural or northern communities, response resources are thinner. Police response times may be longer. Mental health services may be scarce. Prevention, therefore, must be stronger; not weaker.


Schools as Protected Environments - Without Becoming Fortresses

The article correctly rejects the idea of turning schools into hardened compounds. In Ontario, during my time as the CSO, I resisted proposals for airport-style screening. Research does not support universal metal detectors as a primary prevention tool in low-incidence jurisdictions.

Instead, effective protective environments share four features:

  1. Relational Trust - Students believe adults will act if they report.

  2. Anonymous Reporting Systems - Tools like tip lines increase early disclosure.

  3. Practiced Protocols - Lockdowns and holds and secure drills are calmly and routinely executed.

  4. External Partnerships - Police school resource officers or liaison officers maintain positive; not an adversarial presence.

 

The key variable is not hardware. It is culture.

A silent school is not a safe school. It is a school where students do not trust the system.


Privacy and the “Quiet Signal” Concept

The article introduces a “quiet signal” concept; youth-controlled emergency activation without invasive surveillance.


As a security professional, I had always approached technology cautiously. Many safety apps overpromise and underdeliver. However, the principle of low-friction emergency signalling has merit, particularly in cases of coercion, stalking, or imminent threat.

The design must adhere to privacy legislation such as Ontario’s Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). No continuous tracking. No passive data harvesting. Activation-based signalling only.


The gap between “I need help” and “help arrives” is indeed critical. In several Ontario cases involving off-campus violence, delays in reporting, sometimes by minutes, altered outcomes significantly.


Technology is not the solution. But friction reduction can be a layer within a broader ecosystem.


Governance Posture: Task Forces vs. Execution

Canada has convened inquiries after major tragedies before. After École Polytechnique, firearm legislation evolved. After Dawson College, institutional security reviews intensified. After La Loche, mental health and community supports were examined.

The risk is not lack of review. It is lack of sustained implementation.

If British Columbia forms a province-wide youth safety task force, it must:

  • Include operational practitioners; not only policymakers

  • Publish measurable benchmarks

  • Report publicly on progress

  • Sunset ineffective initiatives

In my career, I have seen committees produce binders that gather dust. Capacity is not created by documentation. It is created by funding, staffing, and accountability.


Parents and Community Readiness

One of the article’s strongest themes is parental engagement without panic.

Parents need clarity on:

  • Behavioural leakage (threats, violent ideation expressed online)

  • Sudden weapon fascination paired with grievance narratives

  • Social withdrawal combined with hostility

These are not definitive predictors. They are risk indicators requiring conversation and assessment.

Schools cannot monitor bedrooms or basements. Families cannot monitor hallways. Prevention requires partnership.


The Danger of Denial

Canada’s comparative safety has bred a subtle complacency.

But we must confront the facts: Taber happened. Dawson happened. La Loche happened. And now Tumbler Ridge has happened.

The rarity of these events should not comfort us into passivity. It should motivate precision.

Statistically, Canadian schools remain among the safest places for youth. According to Statistics Canada, overall youth violent crime rates have fluctuated but have not approached the scale seen in the United States. (See Statistics Canada crime data portal: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/subjects/crime_and_justice)

However, low frequency does not equal low impact. The psychological and societal damage from a single mass casualty event reverberates nationally.


My Professional Assessment

After nearly three decades in school security, I offer the following conclusions:

  1. Targeted school violence is preventable in many, but not all cases.

  2. Prevention requires early reporting, structured threat assessment, and coordinated intervention.

  3. Digital environments have accelerated escalation pathways.

  4. Community denial delays response.

  5. Technology must support; not replace human judgment.

The Tumbler Ridge article is correct in one essential respect: institutional drift must end.

But urgency must be paired with discipline. Emotion must be paired with evidence.


A Way Forward

If I were advising British Columbia tomorrow, I would recommend:

  • Immediate audit of all district-level threat assessment teams.

  • Mandatory annual behavioural threat assessment training.

  • Province-wide anonymous tip reporting system integration.

  • Strengthened mental health funding in rural districts.

  • Formalized information-sharing protocols between schools and police within legal parameters.

And critically:

  • Transparent public reporting of prevention metrics; not only after tragedy, but annually.

Preparedness is not paranoia. It is governance maturity.

 

Closing Reflection

When I walk through a school at 7:00 a.m., I would see potential. I saw laughter waiting to happen. I saw futures unfolding in classrooms.

I have also seen what happens when systems assume tomorrow will look like yesterday.

Tumbler Ridge is not proof that Canada is collapsing. It is proof that Canada is not immune.

From Brampton to Montréal, from Taber to La Loche, and now to British Columbia again, the pattern is clear: rare does not mean random. Shock does not mean unforeseeable.

If we honour the victims, we do so not with slogans; but with structure.

Not with fear; but with readiness.

Not with denial; but with disciplined action.

That is what twenty-eight years in the school safety and security profession has taught me.


And that is what this moment demands of us all.


References

Tumbler Ridge shooting and immediate response

 

Canadian school attacks and historical context

 

Data and research on school shootings

 

Analytical / opinion pieces used for framing

  • Obdola, Johan. “Tumbler Ridge: This Is Not ‘Just a Tragedy.’ It’s a National Wake‑Up Call.” (Feb. 11, 2026).

 


Minaz Jivraj MSc., C.P.P., C.F.E., C.F.E.I., C.C.F.I.-C., I.C.P.S., C.C.T.P.

Disclaimer:The information provided in this blog/article is for general informational purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the author. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content, the author makes no representations or warranties about its completeness or suitability for any particular purpose. Readers are encouraged to seek professional legal advice specific to their situation.

 

 
 

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