The past week has most certainly been a very tragic one for everyone who has been following the recent events. In the space of three days, an unprecedented series of violent acts shook Canadians around the world as three Canadian military personnel were attacked on home soil, two of whom have unfortunately passed away.
The first tragic event occurred last Monday, the morning of October 20, in the small town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec. At approximately 11:30 a.m. ET, two soldiers were struck by a car in a hit-and-run located in a parking lot near the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean. The driver fled the scene afterwards and was shot and killed in an ensuing police pursuit.
One of the victims of the hit-and-run, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, died from his injuries following the incident. Vincent, aged 53, was a 28-year veteran of the Canadian Forces. He was working in the Joint Personnel Support Unit of the Canadian Armed Forces, which is responsible for providing support to families of fallen soldiers.
Not even 48 hours later, an honour guard stationed at the National War Memorial in Ottawa was shot twice in the back at point-blank range by a man armed with a hunting rifle. As nearby witnesses rushed to aid the fallen soldier, the shooter fled towards Parliament Hill across the street. An ensuing brief gun fight in Parliament Hill’s Centre Block resulted in one Parliament Hill guard injured and the death of the shooter. The suspect was shot by Kevin Vickers, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons. Kevin Vickers was a distinguished member of the RCMP prior to joining the House of Commons. The memorial guard later died of his injuries. He was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
At this point, all of downtown Ottawa was in lockdown, and all bridges towards Québec were closed. People were told to stay indoors and away from any doors and windows until the lockdown was lifted. Members of Parliament (MPs) had barricaded themselves in the party caucus rooms. Movement across campus was stopped entirely at the University of Ottawa for most of the afternoon due to the close proximity to the shootings. Eventually some snipers were stationed on top of buildings and helicopters assisted in sweeping downtown. The lockdown was lifted later in the day, with police stating that the threat had passed.
The soldier shot at the National War Memorial was Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders based in Hamilton, Ontario, who was aspiring to become a full-time soldier with the Canadian Forces. Cirillo was 24 years old and the father of a six year old boy. The injured Parliament guard, Samearn Son, suffered a shot to the foot but otherwise survived.
As of October 23, it is unknown whether the two events in Ottawa and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu are connected in any way. Both suspects have had minor criminal offenses in the past and have had similar issues regarding international travel. However, the suspect involved in the hit-and-run was a confirmed radical who was a supporter of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Both suspects were Canadian-born citizens who happened to have been Islam converts, although the shooter was reported to have had a history of mental illness and drug addiction.
On October 23, a man carrying a rifle in downtown Halifax was reported. This was followed by Halifax police arresting a man who had carried a concealed firearm onto the bus, causing the lockdown of several public buildings and schools in Halifax. However, there was no confirmed connection with the two preceding events of the week.
With the recent string of tragic events resulting in the deaths of two soldiers of the Canadian Forces, there will be quite a debate as to how situations like these should have been handled and how they could have been prevented altogether. With a counter-terrorism bill being planned for discussion in Parliament sometime within the week, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the recent events. Although the tragedy in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu are almost certainly a case of home grown terrorism, the motivation behind the shooting in Ottawa is up for discussion. Stephen Harper has referred to the Ottawa shooter as a terrorist. Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau have rebutted that the shooting on Parliament Hill shouldn’t be immediately concluded to be an act of terrorism. Elizabeth May of the Green Party commented on the recent attacks, “I do not believe that it was a vast network, or that the country is more at risk today than it was last week.”
These recent events, as tragic as they were, should not be blown out of proportion. For context, in 1970, two Members of Parliament were kidnapped (one was later murdered) by the Front de libération du Québec. The Prime Minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau, enacted the War Measures Act. This is a lengthy topic of its own, and reading up on it whenever time permits is encouraged. Essentially Canada briefly became a police state. The similarities between how the government deals with acts of terror by radicals on home soil would be something to closely watch for. Anyone who is familiar with the changes in security policies in the United States within the last decade should be familiar with what happens when liberty and freedom is sacrificed for national security. When Stephen Harper gave his speech on the recent events, he stated that “…this will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts and those of our national security agencies to take all the necessary steps to identify and counter threats and keep Canada safe here at home.”
Hopefully Canada does not follow in the footsteps of the United States regarding national security. One of the main goals of terrorism is to spawn hatred, fear, and distrust among the population. Justin Trudeau had a portion of his address dedicated to this issue, notably stating “Losing ourselves to fear and speculation is the intention of those that commit these heinous acts. They mean to shake us. We will remain resolved. They want us to forget ourselves. Instead, we will remember. We will remember who we are.”
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