Mountain View County reeve Bruce Beattie says last week's tragic events in Ottawa prove we're paying the price for Canada's fight against religious extremists.
He worries that the federal government will overreact by taking away more of our freedoms.
On Wednesday, reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24, of Hamilton, Ont., was shot and killed as he guarded the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Reports say his alleged attacker, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, then rushed into the nearby Parliament buildings and opened fire. Zehaf-Bibeau was shot and killed by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
Parliament and surrounding buildings went into a daylong lockdown as police hunted for the suspect and searched the area looking for other potential suspects. None were found.
Vickers was applauded by MPs Thursday morning as they met for the first time after the incident.
“Will sympathy go out? Absolutely,” Beattie says. “But it's an unfortunate reflection that we're not insulated from events in the world, and as we become a player in world events, we need to recognize there'll be consequences. And those consequences are going to be significant and here's someone who apparently has paid the price for that.
“So when we make those commitments …we need to make sure that there's a good conversation – that Canadians understand what's involved and what we're putting on the line when we do that. We can't isolate ourselves; we can't pretend that we live in a bubble.
“We take a lot for granted in Canada about our safety. I was thinking about that today. I was in Ottawa three weeks ago and it never crossed my mind that this kind of thing could happen and I think we all live within that. It brings reality.”
Beattie expressed concern the federal government might overreact as a result of that tragedy.
“You can't change what you do. I mean, that's the other side of it. What scares me the most about his (Prime Minister Stephen Harper's) reaction to these kinds of events – where suddenly the government decides that we need more controls, less freedom,” he said.
“That's what concerns me about this federal government. They seem to think the more of these draconian measures they put in place, the less democracy we have, that the safer we'll be.
“Are we going to trade our safety off for democracy? I sure hope not.”
