Advertisement

Canada reflects on a week of domestic terror

The nature of homegrown terrorism is now a topic of concern in Canada.

By Ed Adamczyk
A Canadian Flag flies at half-mast in front of the Consulate General of Canada in New York City on October 23, 2014. Yesterday the NYPD dispatched additional security to the Canadian consulate in New York City as a precaution after a gunman shot and killed a Canadian soldier standing guard at a war memorial in the country's capital on October 22. UPI/John Angelillo
A Canadian Flag flies at half-mast in front of the Consulate General of Canada in New York City on October 23, 2014. Yesterday the NYPD dispatched additional security to the Canadian consulate in New York City as a precaution after a gunman shot and killed a Canadian soldier standing guard at a war memorial in the country's capital on October 22. UPI/John Angelillo | License Photo

OTTAWA, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Separate incidents on Canadian soil, involving the deaths of two soldiers and a bullet-heavy manhunt in the nation's Parliament, have citizens rattled and reflective this weekend.

In both cases, what has been described as Islamic State fan boys, each homegrown in Canada and recently "radicalized" but not affiliated with any jihad group, killed a Canadian soldier. The incident in Ottawa Wednesday, in which Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo before himself being gunned down in the halls of Canada's Parliament building, was preceded by the death of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. He was run down in a Montreal suburb Monday by a car driven by Martin Rouleau, who was shot by police after a car chase.

Advertisement

Canada is wondering how these episodes in the modern history of terrorism occurred in a country notorious for calm and inclusiveness, and more directly, what to do about it. There are sidebars galore to this story.

Advertisement

There were repeated remarks Wednesday, after the Ottawa incident, regarding the massive and Gothic Parliament building. "Our house," commentators and private citizens called it, a place where Frisbees are tossed on the lawn in summer. Canadians have a fondness for the old building, where a modern and progressive government does business in a cathedral-like setting appropriate for a Harry Potter movie, that belies how Americans regard the U.S. Capitol.

This week the Canadian government is expected to move quickly on, or at least debate heatedly, legislation offering further measures to prevent terrorist activity at home. Justice Minister Peter MacKay told the Globe and Mail Friday a "broad array of options, including legislative and "preventative" are being examined. They include the better shielding of identities of informants by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and allowing Canada to better share intelligence information with allies. A senior government source said the changing of thresholds for preventative arrests will also be examined, as well as criminalizing the online support of terrorists.

Nothing has been mentioned about tighter gun control measures. Randall Garrison, of the opposition New Democratic Party, noted his party does not see a "contradiction between civil liberties and public safety...it's not a tradeoff between the two." The incidents in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and in Ottawa came after Canada joined the U.S.-led coalition to provide airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria, and it is presumed the number of wannabe terrorists, in Canada and elsewhere, will grow. MacKay said, after the death of Vincent, that a little-used statute already in place, Section 810 of the Criminal Code, could place restrictions on terror suspects without actually charging them with a crime, potential or otherwise.

Advertisement

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau agreed, saying, "I think we're seeing a gap evolve in law enforcement's ability to maintain control over these individuals that are being radicalized," adding he welcomes an opportunity to review existing laws "to provide us the tools within the Constitution that allow us better monitoring mechanisms, opportunities to prevent these types of incidents from taking place and to keep our communities safe."

Clearly, security will be tightened at government buildings, but there has been no evidence of a backlash against Canadian Muslims in this country that continues to welcome immigrants. The vibe, as reflected in the media, is that of national shock, respect for the fallen soldiers and the institution of Canadian government, and the feeling that Canada is now clearly a wounded partner in the battle against homegrown terrorism.

Citizens are left to ponder the almost antic incidents within the Parliament building; while security forces shot the invader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was locked for his security, for fifteen minutes, in a room described as a closet, a cubbyhole or a cupboard. His fellow Conservative caucus, 150 of whom were meeting at the time, locked their doors and began fashioning spears from flagpoles in the room, in the event hand-to-hand-combat was necessary.

Advertisement

The outside world also saw the way Canadians received its information as the drama and confusion in Ottawa unfolded Friday. The restrained commentary, notably by Peter Mansbridge of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., was lauded.

"Outsiders, mostly accustomed to U.S. television news, were impressed that no one at the CBC coined a catchy name for the presence of what turned out, after agonizing hours, to be a lone gunman on Parliament Hill. It was noted with surprise that no snazzy graphic rolled in and out of view as a part of an effort to brand the event," The Globe and Mail commented.

Latest Headlines