In Ottawa today, parliamentarians called for a minute of silence in the House of Commons as parliamentarians honored the three Mounties slain in Moncto n.

And tonight, the mood was somber at a charity fundraiser called an Evening in the Maritimes.  It is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa, an organization that provides a critical lifeline to adults with disabilities. The lobster was fresh but so too were the emotional wounds of the crowd of seven hundred who were gathered to celebrate life in the Maritimes.

One of the organizers of the event and the executive director of Citizen Advocacy is from the Maritimes and has two sisters still in Moncton.

"The reality is that the Maritimes is much more than the actions and behavior of this one person,” says Brian Tardif.

In the House of Commons today, there was a call for a moment of silence to reflect on those three lives lost and to also reflect on Canada's gun laws. Justice Minister Peter MacKay was asked that very question outside the House of Commons.

"We have rigorous gun laws in Canada right now,” says MacKay, “and this is a real tragedy, something that really goes to heart of people's sense of community safety. When one examines these circumstances, these are the acts of a very deranged person.”

Senator Vern White is from the Maritimes and was with the RCMP for years. Most recently, White served as Ottawa's Police Chief. He says the cancellation of the long-gun registry is not the issue.

"I will be surprised if this is a registered issue,” says White of the guns that were used to kill the three Mounties and injure the others.  “This is an issue with someone who is target-driven to kill people and he's doing exactly that.”

Ottawa's current police chief wouldn't offer a comment on Canada’s gun laws but did offer help to the RCMP to allow local Mounties to travel to Moncton to help their colleagues in the search for the gunman.

"I know they deployed assets here locally to Moncton,” says Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau, “and we've offered to provide assistance locally to help them to ensure that their mandate is fulfilled here and they've accepted that offer.”

The debate over guns will happen, of course.  Right now, the focus is on capturing the gunman before any more lives are lost.  Tonight, at the “Evening in the Maritimes”, there will be a moment for guests to reflect on those who died.