Is this the end of Canada's innocence? "Canada's 9/11", as one US cable news commentator suggested? A consequence of Canada's engagement in the "global war in terrorism", first in Afghanistan and now with Canada's commitment of military forces to the fight against the self-styled "Islamic State" (ISIL) in Iraq? The beginning of a new era of draconian security measures intended to defend against the radical Islamist threat?
It is still not clear whether this week's incidents were a result of mental health or social adjustment problems characteristic of other, less ideological violence.
Canadians like to see themselves as a "peaceable kingdom". Certainly they hope that they are less likely to be the target of terrorism than more important world powers, that the closer integration of ethnic and religious minorities in the national fabric makes them less vulnerable than many European countries, and that they are less prone to mass killings than their violence-prone southern neighbours. However, few believed the country was somehow immune to either the murderous acts of maladjusted individuals or politically-inspired terrorism.
Read Full Article »