Nearly a week after an explosion at the office of North Vancouver MLA Bowinn Ma, the politician says she is undeterred from carrying out her role in the community.
Early in the morning of June 27, an explosion tore off pieces of the front door to her constituency office on West Esplanade. The blast left scorch marks on the pavement outside and as of Thursday, the office remains closed to the public due to the damaged door.
But while she expressed concern for her staff and described the incident as “frightening” at the time, Ma hasn’t retracted from public appearances.
On Canada Day, Ma was out operating a family activity booth outside the Polygon Gallery in the afternoon. And on Thursday, she joined other dignitaries at the opening of a new childcare centre at Mahon Park.
“I won’t be intimidated from continuing to serve my community,” Ma said. “I want to make sure my staff are okay and feel, and are, safe. I’m at the office infrequently because my work takes me all over the place, but they are there daily. We’ll do what is needed to make sure that is the case."
Ma’s staff have been operating virtually and fully reopening the office depends on when the door can be fixed, she said.
Ma said she’s been proud to offer a space that helped minimize feelings of distance between community members at their MLA.
“Eight years ago, when I took over the office from the previous BC Liberal MLA, I took down the full length pony wall and security glass that fully separated the public entrance from the rest of the office,” she said. “I intentionally opened up the space so that it would be as welcoming as possible for community members.”
The office is used regularly by community groups, and people are encouraged to browse for resources and have their kids use the play area, Ma said.
“I’m really concerned that some of the trends we are seeing will drive elected officials further away from these kind of open approaches,” she said. “It would be fair for them to do, given safety concerns, but we also lose out as a democratic society when it happens.”
Police investigation ongoing
Meanwhile, a police investigation into the explosion is ongoing.
Officers are still canvassing the Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood for CCTV and other video, and asking anyone with knowledge of the event to come forward, said Cpl. Mansoor Sahak, spokesperson for North Vancouver RCMP.
“They play a crucial role in this investigation,” he said. “Their dashcam [footage] could be the missing piece in this puzzle.”
Investigators have “persons of interest” they’re looking to identify, Sahak added.
At this point, there’s nothing to suggest that another similar incident will happen, he said.
“We don’t have any information to suggest there’s going to be another explosion,” Sahak said.
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