What do James Roszko, Justin Bourque and most recently Alexandre Bissonnette have in common? They are all home born and bred white Canadian males who individually each were or are accused of murdering in cold blood more people than all Islamist inspi
What do James Roszko, Justin Bourque and most recently Alexandre Bissonnette have in common?
They are all home born and bred white Canadian males who individually each were or are accused of murdering in cold blood more people than all Islamist inspired terror attacks on our soil combined.
Roszko killed four members of the RCMP, Bourque killed three officers, and Bissonnette is charged with the recent killing of six Muslim men and critically wounding others in Quebec City.
Meanwhile, the number of Canadians killed by supposed jihadists within our own borders pales in comparison. Martin Couture-Rouleau, who in 2014 drove a car to ram into two soldiers in Quebec, and Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the 2014 Parliament Hill attacker, were each responsible for taking a life.
Yet despite the documented fact that individuals like Roszko and Bourque, and allegedly Bissonnette, present a much greater threat to our national security than the likes of Zehaf-Bibeau and Couture-Rouleau, many Canadians remain more worried about the perceived threat of Islamist extremism and refugees.
Ironically, the Conservative Party expressed condolences in a social media post to the families of the mosque shooting victims, all of whom were Muslims praying in a house of worship. The irony here stems from the fact we're talking about the party who in a desperate attempt to get re-elected during the last federal election proposed all kinds of unscrupulous, divisive, race-baiting policies — such as the infamous barbaric practices hotline — that serve little more than to fan the flames of intolerance and hate while encouraging as well as emboldening the likes of Bissonnette.
Shortly after news of the attack broke, when details were sketchy before the time Bissonnette was even officially identified as the suspect — he reportedly called authorities and calmly waited for officers to arrive — numerous Conservative supporters commented on the party's post that the attack "proved" Canada should stop welcoming refugees.
That alone sadly goes to show the extent to which altogether too many Canadians prematurely and erroneously jump to prejudiced conclusions with unshakeable conviction, before sufficient information is even known to be able to make any kind of reasonable judgment.
Fortunately, there were others who responded to such rhetoric by pointing out that the suspect not only wasn't a refugee or a Muslim, but that he was in fact a white male from Quebec who espoused extreme right-wing views and had an unquestionable penchant for Donald Trump.
But making matters worse, the new White House press secretary regurgitated more mind-numbing "alternative facts" following the premeditated killings in Quebec.
"It's a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive," said Sean Spicer, apparently oblivious to the fact the attacker did not come from one of the seven countries targeted by the American ban on immigrants and refugees.
Yet it's a safe bet the highly enlightened U.S. president will never take any meaningful steps to address the threat of homegrown, right-wing, white supremacist extremism. After all, that would in many instances mean targeting sections of his own voter base.
The double standard is deplorable.
More people are killed in North America by homegrown right-wing extremists than by Islamic State inspired terrorists, yet rest assured there will never be a populist cry demanding "extreme vetting" of citizens who potentially espouse disturbingly prejudiced and violent ideals that threaten our social fabric.
What happened in Quebec is nothing less than appalling. There is no defending such action.
But it should also serve as a deafening wake-up call.
Extremism on all sides of the spectrum must be confronted.
We cannot allow ourselves to wilfully ignore disturbingly hateful and violent acts committed in the name of white supremacy and right-wing nationalistic fervour while pretending only refugees who come from Muslim majority countries represent a threat.
At best this mentality is disingenuously one-sided.
At worst, it is outright dangerous and will inevitably set the stage for more such atrocious attacks if left unchallenged.
- Ducatel is the Sundre Round Up editor-reporter
