Carey Price didn't know about Polytechnique shooting, Habs exec says

"He was not aware of the tragic events of Dec. 6, 1989," France Margaret Bélanger says about Canadiens goaltender's Instagram post.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was not aware of the 1989 Polytechnique massacre that claimed 14 lives, Groupe CH president of sports and entertainment France Margaret Bélanger told Radio-Canada on Monday.

Her comment came two days after Price took to Instagram to oppose Bill C-21, the federal government’s new firearms bill. In his post, Price said he supported the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, which made headlines last month for using POLY — as in the PolySeSouvient gun control group, formed after the 1989 shooting — as a promo code.

The anniversary of the Polytechnique shooting is on Tuesday.

“He was not aware of the tragic events of Dec. 6, 1989, nor of the coalition’s recent marketing initiatives,” Bélanger told Radio-Canada.

Separately, a spokesperson for federal public security minister Marco Mendicino told La Presse that the firearm Price is carrying in his Instagram post would not be banned under Bill C-21.

“Our bill does not target firearms currently used for hunting and we fully respect the traditions of hunters and Indigenous peoples,” Audrey Champoux said in a statement.

An amendment to Bill C-21 introduced last month that proposed expanding the definition of a prohibited assault-style firearm.

While the Liberal government has maintained the definition applies only to guns that belong on the battlefield, Conservative MPs have said it would affect a number of hunting rifles and shotguns.

Champoux accused conservative politicians and pro-gun groups of inciting fear instead of participating in the debate.

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