We are Canada By Tim Kalinowski Twitter: GLATimKal As Canadians we are a peace-loving people and we have built up a peaceful nation which is one of the beacons to a world torn apart by radical ideology, war and strife. But the price of our peace has always been paid out in the blood and sacrifice of our soldiers. The murder of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as he stood ceremonial guard duty over the tomb of Canada’s Unknown Soldier and the death of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent two days earlier reminds all Canadians of that blood sacrifice in a gut-twisting, heart-wrenching way. Although our grief is potent, these terrorist actions will not blunt our resolve. These home-grown terrorists, radicalized by the same ideology which continues to tear the world apart, seek to attack our soldiers and our citizens to force us to fear them. We do not fear them. We will hunt them down wherever they dwell in this land and either render them harmless or destroy them if it is their will to die. Canadians are peace-loving, it is true, but when war calls us we know how to answer. The symbolism of these attacks is unquestioned. In Canada our soldiers represent all that is good, brave and noble in ourselves. They represent duty, honour, self-sacrifice and a willingness to serve. Our soldiers are revered, and the National War Memorial is among our most sacred places. By attacking this sacred place and our Parliament, which is at the heart of our democracy, these terrorists show spite for all that makes us uniquely Canadian. But Canada is more than a collection of stones, artifacts, marble corridors and stately halls; it is an idea of justice, fair dealing, tolerance and fellowship. We know this idea is stronger than any bullet and more enduring than any savage ideology of hate. Early reports on the incident on Parliament Hill indicate that after the gunman’s cowardly murder of Cpl. Cirillo he sought to rain death down on our political representatives. The gunman knew all of Canada’s legislators would be there as well as the Prime Minister and his staff on a busy Wednesday morning when parties held their weekly caucuses. The gunman probably dreamed he would be able to take a number of them with him as he died. What he was met with instead was the superb professionalism and dedication to duty of Parliament’s exemplary security led personally by Kevin Vickers, Canada’s Sergeant-at-Arms, who put down his ceremonial mace and took up his gun to help bring this killer down. This terrorist sought to attack the symbol of Canadian democracy but found the protectors of that symbolism waiting to defend it and he never stood a chance. Canadians rose out of bed the next morning understanding that something had changed and their long-held peace had been shattered by the acts of these vicious murderers. But they were also resolved to live their lives, love their families, and go to work as they have always done, and continue to uphold what is best in Canada. It is true our grief flows for the families of those who had fallen, but a new resolve has set in too. We will not be cowed. In the shadows of our nation where these terrorists live we will hunt them down and pull them out root and branch. Their reasons do not matter anymore.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 03:54:29 +0000