Police investigate suspicious envelope at Human Rights Commission

Ottawa police are investigating after a suspicious envelope forced the evacuation of staff at the Slater Street headquarters of the Canadian Human Rights Commission Thursday morning, a police spokesperson said.

The fire service's hazardous materials team, paramedics and police forensic investigators were dispatched to the eighth floor of 344 Slater Street around 8:30 a.m. after getting a call about the package.

The floor was evacuated for several hours while emergency officials were at the scene. Paramedics examined three employees who handled the envelope and two police officers who were called to the building, Ottawa police said in a news release.

It's unclear if the package was sent to the Commission, which did not return a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

The envelope was sent to Health Canada to be analyzed.

A police spokesperson said investigators are looking into the incident.