When tragedy strikes a community, resident’s band together and share in the pain and the heartache.
Like Taber, Alberta before it, La Loche, Saskatchewan is now reeling from a senseless act of violence, while the country looks on in horror and offers up necessary, almost automatically-generated words of kindness, compassion and condolence.
What else can we do?
Trudeau tweeted, and will be visiting La Loche in person.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall wrote a letter and attended the site personally as well.
Saskatchewan Opposition leader Cam Broten and former La Loche mayor Georgina Jolibois reached out and offered their solidarity.
It does not feel like enough, to only stand shoulder-to-shoulder, but realistically, what can we do in Barrhead, for the people of La Loche?
In 1975, 16-year-old Michael Slobodian killed two people with a rifle, at Brampton Centennial Secondary School. Forty years later, a 17-year-old suspect who cannot be identified due to his protection under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, shot and killed three people while injuring seven.
In both cases, guns were used.
Despite the availability of firearms however, Canada does not have the same problems that other countries do with regards to crimes and weapons.
According to Statistics Canada, gun violence can be attributed to only two per cent of all victims of violent crimes in 2012, yet in the same report an appalling 17 per cent is directly related to blunt instruments and knives.
Other factors obviously play a part in these crimes and tragedies, things we overlook maybe, especially in the heat-of-the-moment, when we are presented with more tangible, physical evidence to explain causes and effects.
Things like cyber-bullying, and the process of desensitization – something that happens whenever the media glorifies a crime, and when music lyrics are taken out of context, these are some examples of the intangible factors.
The point is that it is not the tool that commits the crime.
Sgt. Bob Dodds of the Barrhead RCMP detachment recently spoke about the dangers of Fentanyl and its emergence in our community. While he was speaking about the signs and symptoms of substance abuse and what people could do to prevent their children from making poor lifestyle choices, the message Dodds was trying to convey, the importance of being an active part of our children’s daily lives, is no less relevant now than it was then.
Tragedies like La Loche on Jan. 22, and Taber in 1999 happened for more reasons than the simple availability of a firearm.
Maybe its time we put down the smart phones and take a more active role in our kids’ lives.
