This is not supposed to happen in Canada.
The radio program I was listening to was interrupted to report a shooting in our nation’s capital.
“An unarmed soldier was shot and killed while standing guard at the Ottawa Cenotaph honouring our fallen soldiers. The killer was still on the loose. He was last seen heading into the Parliament Buildings.”
I heard this as I was on my way to the airport.
I was flying out that day to visit my daughter in Victoria… where my daughter works in the provincial capitol building.
When I got to the airport, everyone who had heard about the shooting was in shock.
Those who hadn’t yet heard, found out quickly. They too were shocked and stunned.
We were all speechless.
But I was starting to panic.
My daughter had just gotten a new and exciting job as a legislative assistant in the BC legislature.
This was the day she was going to show me around the BC parliament building, and we were going to sit and observe Question Period.
When my plane landed in Vancouver, I texted my daughter to see what was happening.
She said the legislature was in “lockdown” and surrounded by security forces.
She didn’t know if I would be able to come in.
Or if she would be allowed out.
There is a saying that “the personal is political”.
That day, the political suddenly became personal.
My mind was racing… was my daughter in danger?
Was this a coordinated nationwide attack? Were all the provincial legislatures targeted?
With a heavy and fearful heart I boarded the final leg of my trip from Vancouver to Victoria.
The trip is only 60 minutes, but it felt like forever.
Shortly after landing my daughter texted that the lockdown was lifted.
The stress of my daughter being safe only partially lifted because I was headed directly to see her at work in the capitol building.
When I got to the legislature I was greeted by layer upon layer of security. It was an eery feeling.
My name was on a list at the entrance and so I was allowed in.
It was a huge relief when I finally got to the Chambers and my daughter came to greet me.
We sat together to watch the proceedings of our Provincial Government.
The leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition each stood and solemnly spoke
about the tragic shooting event that day. There was a minute of silence.
And then….it was political “business as usual”.
Michelle Mungal (Nelson’s local representative) raised serious questions about child poverty in our province, and how a simple policy change would significantly cut the rate of child poverty.
I was so impressed with her questions but shocked at the response she got.
She was greeted with catcalls and insulting responses from “the other side”. A barrage of verbal attacks.
This was the general tone of the rest of Question Period.
I sat there disgusted by the whole display, and it got me thinking about the horrific violence that had taken place that morning.
Watching the lack of respect shown by some members of the legislature, the insults, the taunting, the indifference to the plight of children made me wonder ….where does violence start?
What kind of role models are our elected representatives showing our children? Why does the quest for political power sometimes bury compassion?
How are we caring for the vulnerable, the mentally ill, the alienated, the disconnected youth in our midst?
(The shooter, I have since learned, had a known history of untreated mental illness.)
So many questions…yet where to start with the answers?
Then it came to me.
The most important place to start is with our children.
Love, respect, responsiveness and compassion are learned from day one – as are their opposites.
As parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, we have a powerful impact on the kind of people the children in our lives become.
We are their biggest influences and teachers.
We need to show them what it means to love and be loved.
We need to show them what it means to respect and be respected.
We need to show them what it means to have compassion and be compassionate.
It’s up to us, the important people in children’s lives, to begin to positively change the world.
