Uncivil Behaviour in Canada

English: Parliament Hill, viewed from east, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We can't say Canadians have had an easy time of it then it comes to protecting themselves from suspected terrorists since 9/11/2001.  Like the United States, the Land of the Maple Leaf has its share of people who want to do harm to its fellow citizens in the name of a twisted version of their religion, or in behalf of a Middle East terrorist organization, or both.

What happened in the national capitol of Ottawa Wednesday has given Canadians a sense of what Americans have been going through for years.  You could call it their 9/11, but it was more like Columbine or Sandy Hook than the collapse of the World Trade Center.

A man police identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot a soldier who was standing guard at the Canadian war memorial, then proceeded to enter the Parliament building while it was in session.  It was there that Zehaf-Bibeau was gunned down by Keith Vickers, the Sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons (a ceremonial position), who had previously served 29 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Police have ruled out any other suspects.

Canada, if you choose to believe the stereotype, is considered a mild-mannered country.  Its citizens tend to shake their heads every time some crazy American shoots up a school, a movie theater, or a military base.  Then they wonder why nothing is ever done about it, because guns are better-regulated there than in the States.

The Canadian government has joined the United States' new war on ISIL/ISIS, which has so far proved that airstrikes have only made them stronger.  Or that the Islamic state is getting pretty good at recruiting volunteers to convince them to commit jihad against their own countries.

If nothing else, the shootings at Parliament Hill have become a wakeup call to Canadians.  Like Americans, they will slowly become used to living in a security state with the freedoms they used to take for granted replaced by checkpoints everywhere they go, and suspicions about every one they meet.  The border between the two countries will become a little more fortified. 

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper so brilliantly put it while he channeled his inner Winston Churchill, he told his nation that Canadians will not be intimidated.

Canada, welcome to the real world.