Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth is urging his constituents not to lose sight of our country’s values in the wake of the recent shootings on Parliament Hill.
Reached in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon, Storseth said he was in the Conservative caucus room Wednesday morning when a gunman entered the building after murdering a soldier just a few minutes before.
“I went into national caucus and I was listening to the Prime Minister speak at a couple minutes before 10, then we heard gunfire inside the building,” he said.
“From that point on, there are some parts I’m supposed to not disclose.”
Storseth did describe his and his colleagues’ reactions in the face of what was at the time an unknown threat; they didn’t know if it was just one gunman or a group, but the caucus members who were former police officers or soldiers quickly took control of the situation.
“We were very disciplined and it was very effective. We basically barricaded ourselves in the room and were using whatever means at our disposal to protect the Prime Minister and to prevent anybody getting into the room,” Storseth said.
It was particularly difficult to be out of contact with his loved ones — MPs are required to give up their telecommunications devices before going into the caucus room, considering the secretive nature of some of the documents they discuss.
Wednesday’s shooting came just days after a uniformed Canadian Forces member, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, was deliberately struck and killed by a vehicle in Quebec.
The picture of Wednesday’s events became clearer as RCMP continued to investigate in the days following the shooting, and several stories of individual heroism have emerged — from the soldier shot while guarding a war memorial, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, to Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, who is credited with shooting the gunman.
Storseth said it’s important to recognize the actions of so many people following the murder of Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Hamilton who was shot in close range while guarding the tomb of the unknown solider near Parliament Hill.
“That’s a horrible, gut-wrenching murder that took place there, and also the bravery and heroism of everybody from front line responders to average Canadian citizens helping to stop this terror attack in our nation’s capital,” he said.
While some observers have been critical of describing this incident as terrorism, Storseth said the description is apt.
“This wasn’t just an attack on an individual, this was an attack on the institutions of Parliament, and the symbol and soul of our democracy in Canada,” he said.
“That’s what the attack was about, and the purpose of it was to terrorize Canadians and make us fearful.”
He noted the attack failed in that purpose. Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after the shooting, Parliament resumed — and the work of the government will continue moving forward, both in Ottawa and in constituency offices across the country that were closed Wednesday as a precaution.
“At the end of the day it’s obviously scary to be in the middle of it — the gunman was right outside the door of where we were located, but at the end of the day it really is about the resilience of Canadians,” Storseth said. “I was proud to be in the House of Commons today when we went back to work as usual.”
Reaction to the events in the days after the shooting have been mixed, with wide outpouring of support for the victims and their families, but with some anti-religious fervour apparent as well.
A mosque in Cold Lake, which is in the Westlock-St. Paul riding, was vandalized Thursday night with windows smashed and the message “Go Home” painted on the building several times over.
“It should be clear, these aren’t people representing a religion. These are people who for whatever reason have become radicalized and disenfranchised in our society, and have done this in whatever name,” Storseth said. “In this particular case, we don’t know why he did what he did at this point in time.”
In Westlock, Legion President Jim Klaasen said both incidents in eastern Canada are disturbing, especially since Canadian Forces members have now been asked to refrain from wearing their uniforms in public.
“I think it’s a pretty sad doggone thing when we can’t have our soldiers even walking on the street because of some idiots — and that’s what they are, in my estimation,” he said.
The flag at the Legion, like so many others in Westlock, was lowered to half-mast last week, but Klaasen said it’s too soon to say what else might be done to honour the dead other than the already scheduled Remembrance Day ceremonies.
He said he’s concerned about security at the event, now, since there will obviously be soldiers and RCMP members present who could become targets for further attacks.
“I’m quite worried about it and I’m sure we all should be,” he said.
For Storseth, one of the most important messages going forward is to not be fearful.
“If we’re fearful of these kinds of things, that is exactly what they want. We can’t allow this to change our democracy and we can’t allow this to change our society,” he said. “Our society is one of openness, inclusiveness, and we welcome all different types of people and religions.”
