NORTON META TAG

23 October 2014

Attack on Ottawa: PM Harper cites terrorist motive & Terrorists don’t have a chance in this country 22&23OKT14


And we will remember Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and  Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent​...



Long after we have forgotten their cowardly killers. 

Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers receives standing ovation

 

Pittsburgh Penguins tribute to Canadians, Oct 22, 2014



MORE on the shootings in Ottawa on Wednesday, 22 OCT 14 and the hit and run murder of a Canadian soldier outside Montreal on Monday, 20 OCT 12 from the +The Globe and Mail. Of special note are the statements of the opposition leadership following the attacks in Ottawa that expressed sorrow for the families of those killed and their commitment to all Canadians to protect them and their freedoms and liberties. "NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said Canada was shaken by the shootings but “we shall not waver.”
“These acts were driven by hatred but also designed to drive us to hate,” he said. “They will not. We will stand up, and we will stand together. We will persevere and we will prevail.”
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday night that he was saddened by the shootings and condemns “these brutal and heartless” acts of violence.
Mr. Trudeau called for continued co-operation with Canada’s Muslim community “to help prevent the influence of distorted ideological propaganda posing as religion." Compare that to PM harper's rant about terrorism, a cheap attempt to politicize this tragedy to benefit his reelection, maybe even justify early elections. "
“We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated,” Mr. Harper said in his TV address.
“This will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts and those of our national security agencies to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats and keep Canada safe here at home, just as it will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts to work with our allies around the world and fight against the terrorist organizations who brutalize those in other countries with a hope” of attacking Canada, the Prime Minister said.

In fact, the soldier killed at the National War Memorial was part of an expanded honour-guard program set up by the Conservatives to keep a vigil over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from April to November each year.
In his TV address, Mr. Harper called the war memorial a “sacred place” and described the killing of Corporal Nathan Cirillo as anti-Canadian, saying such incidents are attacks “on our values, on our society, on us Canadians as a free and democratic people who embrace human dignity for all.”
The Prime Minister kept a low profile after the morning attacks."

An RCMP intervention team run next to a Parliament building in Ottawa Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A Canadian soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and there are reports of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Attack on Ottawa: PM Harper cites terrorist motive

Globe and Mail Update Oct. 22 2014, 7:33 PM EDT

Video: A look at some of the key moments from the Ottawa shooting

The attack on Parliament Hill’s Centre Block and the National War Memorial has left one Canadian soldier and one male suspect dead.
During an address to the nation, Prime Minster Stephen Harper said the incident in Ottawa was a 'terrorist' act. Mr. Harper also indicated that it remains unclear whether the man shot dead on Parliament Hill Wednesday acted alone.

More Related to this Story


"Together we will remain vigilant against those at home or abroad who wish to harm us."
The Prime Minister concluded by stating that there will be no safe haven for terrorists and expressed confidence that Canadians will pull together in the wake of this week’s events.
Federal sources have identified the suspected shooter as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a man in his early 30s who was known to Canadian authorities.
Sources told The Globe and Mail that he was recently designated a “high-risk traveller” by the Canadian government and was unable to secure the appropriate travel documentation, thus blocking his attempt to travel abroad. The circumstances are similar to that surrounding the case of Martin Rouleau-Couture, the Quebecker who was shot Monday after running down two Canadian Forces soldiers with his car.
Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau was born in 1982 and was the son of Bulgasem Zehaf, a Quebec businessman who appears to have fought in 2011 in Libya, and Susan Bibeau, the deputy chairperson of a division of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.
Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau has a record in Quebec in the early 2000s for petty crimes such as possession of drugs, credit-card forgery and robbery. He was also charged with robbery in 2011 in Vancouver.
(Follow The Globe's Ottawa staff on Twitter for updates on the Parliament Hill shootings)
  • Soldier shot at the National War Memorial has died
  • One suspect confirmed dead
  • Harper cites terrorist motive behind attack on Ottawa
  • Suspect was designated a “high-risk traveller”
  • Ottawa area Armed Forces personnel instructed to only wear uniforms on duty
  • Downtown Ottawa lockdown lifted, federal government buildings remain off limits
The soldier who was killed was identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, according to his aunt. Cpl. Cirillo, who was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, a regiment of Reserve Forces based in Hamilton, was training to join the Canada Border Services Agency, his aunt told The Globe and Mail.
“We’re still in the process of an active operation right now. We’re treating this very seriously with the RCMP in identifying and clearing Parliament Hill to render it safe,” Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau told a mid-afternoon media briefing.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m. (ET) Ottawa police lifted the lockdown in the city's downtown core saying that the threat to public safety no longer remained.
However, the police operation on Parliament Hill is still ongoing and remains off limits to the public.
Asked if the attack had caught police off guard, Gilles Michaud, commanding officer of the RCMP’s national division, said: “I think that from our reaction, it caught us by surprise.”
Still, he said “all available and necessary resources were activated and deployed immediately” and will remain in place as long as necessary.
Canadian Armed Forces personnel, at least in the Ottawa area, are being instructed not to wear their uniform in public unless on duty, a source said.
A Forces directive to this effect will go out shortly, the source said.
THE SHOOTING: FEDERAL BUILDINGS PUT INTO LOCKDOWN
Gunfire erupted at the National War Memorial around 9:52 a.m. (ET), then moved to Parliament Hill’s Centre Block. The Parliament Hill shooting was captured on this video by a Globe reporter. One Parliament Hill guard was shot in the leg, treated in hospital and was later released.
The outbreak of violence sent MPs into hiding and all federal government buildings into lockdown, which wasn't lifted until late on Wednesday evening.
Mr. Harper was with Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino in a caucus meeting when the gunfire began, Mr. Fantino told the Toronto Sun Wednesday. Fantino credits a sergeant-at-arms for taking down a gunman. "All the details are not in but the sergeant-at-arms, a former Mountie, is the one that engaged the gunman, or one of them at least, and stopped this," Fantino said.
Mr. Fantino also praised the RCMP for protecting the Prime Minister and other parliamentarians. "They were so professional," he told the Toronto Sun of the RCMP. "Incredible."
Mr. Harper met with cabinet concerning Wednesday’s attack before addressing the nation in a statement.
THE LOCKDOWN: OTTAWANS WARNED TO STAY CLEAR OF DOWNTOWN
Earlier in the day Parliament Hill staff were issued a security warning to stay away from doors and windows, lock their doors and, if doors would not lock, to barricade them. "Do not open a door under any circumstances," the security alert said.
Public building close to Parliament buildings had also established lockdowns, including the University of Ottawa, where personnel went door to door to tell people to stay put. Schools in the downtown core were also locked down. However, by early afternoon, students and faculty at the University of Ottawa were no longer fully respecting the lockdown and had started to leave campus.
The Rideau Centre mall, a major shopping centre a block from the war memorial, was also in lockdown after police initially reported shots being fired nearby. However, the police later said that no shots were fired near the mall.
THE WAR MEMORIAL: 'MOVE DOWN! THERE'S AN ACTIVE SHOOTER!'
Police officers at the cenotaph, which was cordoned with yellow tape and bordered by cruisers, ordered bystanders and journalists to move farther away from the crime scene on Wednesday morning, toward the Rideau Centre mall.
Tensions ran high as the officers yelled at journalists to get back around 10:30 a.m. (ET), with one officer shouting: " Move down! There's an active shooter! If you want to die, stay here. If you want to live, keep moving!”
Liberal MP John McKay said he was just taking off his jacket about to go into the caucus room when he heard "Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!" He assumed the sounds were construction noise, but then security guards rushed down the halls ordering everybody out.
Mr. McKay said the MPs followed security out the back door and then they "huddled out back by the monuments" for a while. "That building is the people's building ... I'd hate to think of us shutting it down because of both paranoia and legitimate fears."
A tourist from the Netherlands, Jan Lugtenborg, told reporters that a man with a long rifle was "running like hell that way... to Parliament Hill."
"We didn't expect this in Canada," he said.
EYEWITNESS: 'IT SOUNDED LIKE A SHOTGUN'
One man watched the scene unfold from a third-floor office that faces the war memorial. “It was unreal,” said the witness, who asked not to be identified. “I heard the shot and looked out the window. . . The shooter came from the west side and aimed right at the young guy that was standing guard and shot him twice.  I think he missed with the first shot; it sounded like a shotgun.”
He saw the young soldier fall. No one returned fire. Other guards and police converged on the victim. The scene was “mayhem,” he said.
Major-General Christopher Coates, deputy commander continental at Canadian Joint Operations Command, extended condolences to the member’s family.
“Canadian armed forces bases and establishments are currently taking precautions appropriate to their environment to ensure the safety and security of personnel and infrastructure,” he said.
THE CHATEAU LAURIER: GERMAN DELEGATION SAW DRAMA UNFOLD
Carol Devine, owner of Devine Fine Jewellery on the hotel's main floor, says people are being told they can't leave. "It's really weird. I feel the same today as I did on Sept 11 [2001]," she said. "I was working that day here, there were people stuck here from the U.S. and security on Parliament Hill‎. It's the same kind of weird feeling."
Richard Teltschik is leading a delegation of German parliamentarians from the Christian Social Union of Bavaria on a visit to Ottawa, and left the Chateau Laurier as the Parliament Hill drama was unfolding.
“There was police coming from all sides, from all the streets they are running towards the Parliament,” he said in a phone call from the Museum of Canadian History, which is across the Ottawa River from the capital.
“We are all concerned and surprised that in quaint Canada, this kind of thing could happen,”  he said. “Everybody expects Canada to be remote from all the troubles of the world, peaceful and quiet and now we have this situation.”
REACTION: 'OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THOSE INJURED'
In a televised address Wednesday evening, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said Canada was shaken by the shootings but “we shall not waver.”
“These acts were driven by hatred but also designed to drive us to hate,” he said. “They will not. We will stand up, and we will stand together. We will persevere and we will prevail.”
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday night that he was saddened by the shootings and condemns “these brutal and heartless” acts of violence.
Mr. Trudeau called for continued co-operation with Canada’s Muslim community “to help prevent the influence of distorted ideological propaganda posing as religion.”
Mr. Harper cancelled his planned trip to Toronto, where he was to present girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai with honorary Canadian citizenship on Wednesday afternoon.
Conservative MPs held a moment of silence after they were informed that the Canadian Armed Forces member passed away.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz postponed a planned 11:15 a.m. (ET) news conference in Ottawa, due to take place in the National Press theatre, across Wellington Street from Parliament Hill. The news conference was to follow Wednesday’s release of the central bank’s interest rate statement and monetary policy report.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson called Wednesday a “sad and tragic day for our city and our country.”
“I’m sure I speak for all residents of our city when I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of the individual who lost his life this morning while standing guard at the National War Memorial at the heart of downtown Ottawa.”
In Toronto, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says she and the opposition leaders discussed suspending Question Period in light of the Ottawa shooting, but she says “we refuse to be silenced.”
White House and other U.S. government officials have been in “close touch” with their Canadian counterparts “to offer assistance” and have asked to arrange a phone call between President Barack Obama and Mr. Harper at the Prime Minister’s earliest convenience, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington.
The NHL game scheduled in Kanata between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs has been postponed.
With reports from Kathryn Blaze Carlson, Erin Anderssen, Shawn McCarthy, Colin Freeze, Sean Silcoff, Barrie McKenna, Ryan Macdonald, Evan Annett, Les Perreaux and The Canadian Press
Follow us on Twitter: @stevenchase, @curryb, @jillsmahoney, @josh_wingrove
 More Related to this Story
  • Related Soldier killed in Ottawa was a father in his mid-20s
  • On the scene The scene inside: Attack in the Hall of Honour
  • Multimedia Real time coverage from Globe reporters in Ottawa
  • Gallery In pictures: Scenes from Parliament under lockdown
  • Watch Video: Footage from Globe reporter Josh Wingrove captures gunfire inside Parliament
  • Meet Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms in the Commons 


    Margaret Wente

    Terrorists don’t have a chance in this country

    I was never prouder of my country than I was Wednesday. I learned that we are pretty cool people in a crisis.
    It’s easy to overreact when someone with a gun storms your seat of government and opens fire – especially when you suspect that person is a radicalized terrorist with an unknown number of accomplices. But we didn’t overreact.
    What I saw was an institutional response that was professional, quick, efficient and calm. Nobody panicked. I saw our police and security forces handle an unprecedented emergency with great competence and a minimum of fuss. They sprang into action within minutes of the gunfire, and didn’t push any innocent civilians around.
    I saw the media report the story with care and restraint. No premature conclusions. No scare talk. The CBC reporters never turned a hair. The unflappable Peter Mansbridge is still the best quarterback in the business. The Globe’s astonishing Josh Wingrove had the fortitude to film the bullets spraying and duck for cover. His electrifying video was shown around the world.
    I saw half a dozen bystanders come to the aid of the soldier who’d been shot as he guarded the National War Memorial. One gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Clearly they weren’t thinking about themselves.
    And I learned that I had woefully underestimated our quaint parliamentary traditions. I’d always thought our sergeant-at-arms was just some guy whose job was to re-enact one of our dustier traditions by dressing up in funny clothes and carrying around a mace (whatever that is). Who knew he was also a crack shot?
    But Kevin Vickers, who is 58 and looks it, reportedly can aim and fire with deadly precision when his nation is attacked, then go back into his office to reload. He’ll never brag about it, either. That would be un-Canadian.
    Mr. Vickers is the reason why terrorism doesn’t have a chance in this country. He has made a career of reaching out to Muslims, Sikhs, First Nations, and others who haven’t always been included in this country. When the Idle No More movement marched on Parliament Hill, he formally exchanged tobacco with a First Nations chief and said, “I understand your frustration. I understand the conditions in which you people live and I also understand the importance of tobacco and what it means as not only a gift, but as a sign of respect for your people.” After the Quebec National Assembly banned the kirpan, he made sure the ceremonial dagger would be allowed in the House of Commons. As he told one gathering of Sikhs, he doesn’t like the word “tolerance.” “No,” he said. “As head of security, I am going to accept and embrace your symbol of faith within the Parliamentary Precinct.”
    Did yesterday change everything? I don’t think so. The truth is that we’re still as safe (or not) as we were last week. In spite of the terrible, nerve-rattling tragedies of the past few days, we are no more vulnerable to terrorism than any other Western nation, and probably (because of geography) somewhat less. We’ll simply have to be on guard.
    We’ll find out much more in the days ahead – about the shooter, why he did it, whether there were lapses in security. We will debate whether our security forces need extra powers to do their jobs. As we do that, we should keep in mind the words of Kevin Vickers. “I told them that if they made me their sergeant-at-arms, there would be no walls built around Canada’s parliamentary buildings,” he said.
    Parliament Hill, always open to all the people, will probably become less open than before, and that is a real loss. But I’m pretty sure people will be back next summer to do yoga on the grass. Soldiers will continue to wear their uniforms off base.
    We Canadians are steadfast and a bit phlegmatic. These are among our finest traits. We don’t get that excited, and we won’t be cowed into giving up our freedoms. Also, when necessary, we can shoot to kill. So long as we retain these virtues, the terrorists don’t have a chance.
     

Most popular video »

Most Popular Stories

No comments:

Post a Comment