Not Our First Terror Attack And Canada’s Gun Laws Worked

Shocking! A soldier dead at Ottawa’s National War Memorial, gunfire in the House of Commons and Canada’s capital in lockdown! But, contrary to many media reports in Canada and worldwide, this was not Canada’s first experience with terrorism. That’s why I was so surprised to hear Canadian media especially talking about a “loss of innocence” and how  terrorism has “finally reared its ugly head in Canada”?  Where were they during the ‘70s and ‘80s when we endured three worse acts of terrorism?

Canadian soldier Cpl. Nathan Cirillo leaves behind a 6 yr. old son

Maybe they weren’t even born yet, I don’t know. But, for me, when reading, listening to and watching a few of the sensationalist accounts my mind drifted back to the October Crisis, the National Assembly in Quebec and worst of all the horrible Air India bombing which killed 329 men, women and children. Each of these tragedies were major acts of terror even though none were committed by adherents of radical Islam. Is Islam or Muslim now the ‘litmus test’ for terror? If so, it shouldn’t be.

For my American readers who may not be familiar with the three Canadian terrorist attacks I mentioned, and perhaps a few Canadians as well, here’s a brief recap:

	Three Previous Terrorist Acts In Canada
1970	The October Crisis began as the Front de Liberation du Quebec kidnapped British diplomat James Cross and, later, Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, which allows government to temporarily suspend civil liberties. Cross was released 60 days later but Laporte was found dead.
1984	Three people were killed when Canadian army supply clerk Denis Lortie opened fire inside the National Assembly in Quebec City in a bid to "destroy" Premier Rene Levesque. Lortie was convicted of first-degree murder after his first trial in 1985 but a new trial was ordered because of errors by the judge. In 1987, he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree murder, allowing him to be eligible for parole after 10 years.
1985	An Air India flight that departed from the Vancouver airport exploded in the skies over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 people on board. Two Canadians were tried for the bombing, but were ultimately acquitted of mass murder. Only one conviction has been obtained in the case. Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case, was convicted of perjury in 2010.

RCMP said yesterday that the Ottawa shooter acted alone. It’s likely his unintended impact will last a lot longer than his brief notoriety. All of us in Canada and the USA are already too familiar with what will likely happen next. Another of our institutions of government, in this case our Parliament Buildings, will be turned into a fortress rather than a gathering place for its citizens. That, to me anyway, is another tragedy.

Canada’s strict gun laws saved lives on Wednesday in Ottawa

Canada’s strict gun laws worked during the Ottawa shoot-out and greatly limited the number of deaths.  The shooter did not have a semi-automatic rifle with dozens of 40-round magazines. All he had was a double barreled shotgun!  Why?  Because here in Canada it’s really, really hard to put together an arsenal of guns and ammo to stage a mass killing. One soldier is dead - another was wounded. That’s correct – one innocent victim tragically dead. One!

I’m mentioning this only because shortly after the Ottawa shooting hit the airwaves the crazy right-wing gun nuts in the US were out in full force claiming that Canada’s strict gun laws did not prevent Wednesday’s tragedy. The usual nutbars asked if gun laws really worked, how did such a tragedy occur in Canada which has such strict gun regulations?  My answer: one victim dead. One. No easy access to AK-47’s!

I am by no means trying to minimize the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. I just have to wonder though if gun massacres like Columbine, Sandy Hook, Aurora etc. etc. might have been limited to only one death had the assailants not had such easy access to AK-47’s and other semi-automatic weapons along with seemingly unlimited ammo. Had the terrorist in Ottawa been able to get those types of weapons there’s no doubt in my mind we would have seen a real massacre in Ottawa. Our gun laws worked.

Sgt. at Arms Kevin Vickers gets standing ovation in Parliament

Canada’s current Sergeant-at-Arms is Kevin Vickers who has held the position since 2006. He is a former 29 yr. veteran of the RCMP and that experience and training served him and others well on Wednesday.

Vickers is responsible for safeguarding the authority of the House of Commons and for the safety and security of the Parliament buildings and their occupants. He was
credited with shooting and killing the masked gunmen who was on the loose around Parliament Hill.

Moments after Cpl Nathan Cirillo was fatally shot, reports said that a gunmen was inside the Hall of Honour in Centre Block. In video shot by Globe and Mail reporter Josh Wingrove, officers appear to converge on a suspect outside the doors of the National Library around 10 a.m., just as MPs were converging for Wednesday caucus meetings. In a flurry of gunfire, the suspect was reportedly shot dead.

Witnesses said MPs and Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers who shot the attacker just outside the MPs’ caucus rooms  The Sergeant-at-Arms is the person responsible for the safety and security and ensuring and controlling access to the House of Commons. He did his job well.

Thanks for visiting!