New twist in the tumult surrounding Carey Price. The Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper said on Tuesday morning that he was well aware of the existence of the Polytechnique massacre, contradicting the version put forward the day before by the senior management of the organization.
On December 6, the day of the commemoration of the massacre that claimed the lives of 14 women in 1989, Price posted on Instagram a message with a radically different tone from his communications of the past few days. “My prayers go out today to the victims of the Polytechnique massacre and their families,” he wrote. I believe that the people of Montreal know my heart and my character, and know that I would never intentionally cause pain to those affected by gun violence. »
Last Saturday, in a publication showing him in camouflage with a shotgun in hand, Price criticized the Trudeau government’s Bill C-21 intended to tighten the criteria banning the circulation of certain assault weapons. He also gave his support to the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights (CCFR) which, a few days earlier, had invited the public to use the promotional code “Poly” to obtain discounts on the purchase of on its website.
Lambasted by public opinion, Price first published a clarification on Monday, saying he did not want to disrespect anyone. “No, I didn’t agree with the promo code idea either,” he said.
However, the Habs, through France-Margaret Bélanger, president, sports and entertainment of Groupe CH, had told Radio-Canada a little earlier that the goalkeeper, although established in Montreal since 2007, had no idea of the existence of the Polytechnique massacre. Price’s teammates and coach also defended their goalkeeper, supporting this same version of events. In a press release published in the evening, the team did not rectify this information.
This Tuesday, however, Price says the opposite. “Despite a previous statement, I was well and truly aware of the existence of the tragedy,” he wrote. I have been part of the Montreal community for 15 years and I understand the importance of this day within the community. »
“While I have no control over the circumstances of the Bill C-21 amendment and stand by the opinions I have shared, I recognize that to amplify any conversation about firearms this week may have troubled those affected by the events of 1989. I offer them my apologies,” he concluded.
Although he is not very present in the daily life of the team, Carey Price is still a full member of the Canadian. However, it would be surprising to see the 35-year-old goalkeeper back on skates: with a serious knee injury, he is currently on the team’s long-term injured list. He is under contract until the end of the 2025-2026 season.
Echoes in Quebec
At a press briefing in Quebec City, where the controversy surrounding Carey Price is being talked about in the corridors of parliament, the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, said on Tuesday that we must “leave Carey Price alone” and to be especially interested in the group which, according to him, approached him “by not giving him all the information”.
“The time we are going to spend criticizing Carey Price, whose job in life – and he does it admirably – is to stop pucks, we will not spend it criticizing groups who have probably manipulated a hockey player by not giving him all the information”, said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, adding that using a “poly” promotional code is both “shameful [et] intolerable”.
With Hugo Pilon-Larose, The Pressin Quebec