Shooting in Ottawa

However you thought regarding the shooting on Parliament Hill, that it was a crime, an act of terrorism, a war with ISIS on home soil, a crazy act of religious extremism carried out by a radicalized Zehal-Bisbeau, or whatever, October 22, 2014 was definitely not an ordinary day.  

By now, we know that the fallen soldier was Nathan Cirillo. Condolences to his family and loved ones !  Thanks to Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Canadian Parliament, Zehal-Bisbeau was taken out. Kevin is hailed as a national hero of Canada.

It could have been much worse, as it happened not only outside, but also inside the Parliament of Canada. This tragic incident is a wake up call for Canada, that it is not immune to this kind of crazy shooting, which would and did happen in the U.S. and other countries. New security measures should be discussed and implemented by the Government of Canada, especially to protect the Parliament, which is the heart of Canadian democracy and the central work place of the Canadian Government leaders.

I was impressed by what I saw, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper walked over to shake hands with and embrace the opposition leaders Justin Trudeau and Tom Mulcair. That was so Canadian, so civilized, so ministerial. Thumbs up this time to Harper!        

A Canadian song of the Great Big Sea comes to mind. It is called Ordinary Day. Certainly, as said earlier, October 22, 2014 was definitely not an ordinary day. However, the song lyrics still provide some good advice, which said " At the end of the day, you've just got to say it's all right."  It's all right, Canada. Let's move on !