Ottawa, again

Well, they have started picking up the flowers and gifts from all around the National War Memorial. It's time to prepare the site for Remembrance Day ceremonies. Last Sunday, a few days after the incident, we visited there. I have never seen the War Memorial scattered with so many flowers. Not since Pierre Trudeau's death has Ottawa seen such a spontaneous outpouring of people and flowers.

No doubt the aftermath of this terrible incident will be felt in many places, for a long time.  Places of government in many countries have now adopted tighter security measures, as a result of our tragedy. The ongoing debate now is whether or not this really was an act of terrorism. 

I appreciated the comment I read in The Ottawa Citizen editorial of Oct 30th: "So while the shootings may fit into a broad definition of "terrorism", it's also important to remember that Zehaf-Bibeau's spiral

was a societal failure that needs to be discussed alongside any attempt to boost anti-terrorism legislation. In the end, it may be that getting help to vulnerable people before ISIL trolls on the internet ensnare them, would prevent many more potential strikes that weakening judicial oversight of police activities would."

As I said in an earlier post, we have spent millions on security around Parliament Hill over the past decade. It sure didn't seem to help that day. What about the Citizen's idea of getting help to vulnerable people?

While there are no guarantees, better funding for young families can only help Canadian society. Better access to childcare, improved access to affordable housing, increased funding for mental health facilities and drug treatment programs, increased funding for special education, more psychiatrists and psychologists; all of these measures would go a long way towards improving the lives of so many of our young people.

Right now the wait for subsidized housing in Ottawa is many years. It is almost impossible to get in to see a psychiatrist. If your child has learning issues and you cannot afford to pay for a private psychological assessment, you could wait years for your school to have one done. Poverty, untreated academic and mental health issues do not build model citizens.

This week I heard an interview with a refugee, speaking about the federal government's new legislation, which would restrict social assistance for refugee claimants. In the words of this refugee, "Canada should not accept refugees if they are not going to provide for them. It is like inviting someone to stay at your house and not giving them a meal or a bed." If the new measures pass, he predicted that many more refugee claimants will end up in homeless shelters.

So yes, we do need to have a good look at security on the Hill and find out what failed on Oct 22nd. However, guns in the hands of our guards and more bollards are not going to solve the problems facing our troubled families and young people.