MPs return to Parliament day after Ottawa shooting

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This article was published 23/10/2014 (4060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Most of Canada’s MPs returned to their seats in the House of Commons this morning, putting on a defiant face in the wake of Wednesday’s terrorist attack on Parliament Hill. The leaders of all parties spoke, paying tribute to the victim of the shooting, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, thanking Sargeant-At-Arms Kevin Vickers for his heroism in shooting the gunman, and laying down the gauntlet to other would-be attackers that Canada will not be changed by what happened here this week.

“We will be vigilant but we will not run scared,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “We will be prudent but we will not panic.”

Harper pledged to expedite work on strengthening Canada’s security laws.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the attack was intended to change Canada but it will not, it will “strengthen our resolve.”

He said the openness of Parliament Hill needs to remain, mentioning the well-known Ottawa tradition of having a public yoga session on the front lawn on Wednesday afternoons.

This cannot change, he said.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said Canadians should remember that in all of this a little boy has lost his father. Cirillo, a reservist from Hamilton, was the father of a six-year-old son.

Trudeau said the individuals who committed the attack in Ottawa and earlier in the week in Quebec should not be seen as larger than life or as martyrs. That is how they want to be seen, he said, but they are not martyrs, they are criminals.

“They do not get to change us,” said Trudeau.

He also reached out to Canada’s Muslim community, saying Canadians know these attacks were criminal not religious.

Each of the leaders finished their speech by crossing the floor to hug and shake hands with opposing leaders, and with Vickers, who sat somberly in his usual seat near the doors of the House of Commons and appeared to be fighting back tears.

Many MPs began the day at the National War Memorial to pay tribute to Cirillo, who was killed there Wednesday as he stood as a ceremonial – and unarmed – guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Harper and his wife, Laureen, lay flowers.

During their visit, police tackled and arrested a man who jumped a police barricade.

For most of Ottawa it almost seems like a normal day. Much of downtown has resumed normal activities, the streets are open, employees are back in their offices, chip trucks and food wagons are in place.

But closer to the Hill, there are still signs of change.

A heavy police presence guards all entrances to the Hill, and only people with security passes are allowed through.

The Hill is closed to the public for the time being.

The Hall of Honour in Centre Block was once again filled with people, almost 24 hours after gunfire echoed.

MPs, who were trapped in committee rooms on either side of the hall, senators and staff, were back in the hall on their way to work.

Early in the day a fire alarm caused the evacuation of Centre Block, which made people already on edge a little more nervous, but it was a false alarm.

After the leaders finished speaking, House business resumed as normal with the tabling of reports and petitions, followed by the call for a vote on a ways and means motion.

 

Does this terrorism act herald a new reality for Canada?
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