Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the 57 Canadians killed when Iran shot down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 would be alive if not for recent escalations in tensions in the region.
Trudeau spoke with Global National's Dawna Friesen on Monday about the Canadian response to the plane crash and the ongoing work happening to support the families, identify the victims, and hold Iran to account in the investigation into how the missile that took down the plane was fired.
"If there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families," said Trudeau.
"This is something that happens when you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it and it is a reminder why all of us need to work so hard on de-escalation, moving forward to reduce tensions and find a pathway that doesn't involve further conflict and killing."
He also said he spoke with Trump about the incident.
"I have spoken to him and I have talked about the need to de-escalate tensions," he said. "I've talked about the tremendous grief and loss that Canadians are feeling, and the need for clear answers on how this happened and how we're going to make sure it never happens again."
But he said the focus for him and the Canadian government right now remains on the victims, even as it could be "weeks, perhaps even months" before the victims are repatriated for burial.
"The grief they're going through is not to be consoled right now. They want answers, they've expressed anger and outrage and also immeasurable pain," he said.
"I am hurt like all Canadians. I am angry like all Canadians. But unlike many people I have a job to do that will be able to help these families directly. Getting answers for them is my entire focus right now."
His comments come ahead of a meeting being hosted by Canada on Thursday in London, U.K., in which members of the International Coordination and Response Group are set to lay out their next steps for pushing for credible answers and access to black box data.
