{"id":5403,"date":"2017-01-31T05:33:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T10:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.routineproceedings.com\/?p=5403"},"modified":"2017-01-30T22:23:05","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T03:23:05","slug":"roundup-tragedy-to-pull-mps-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.routineproceedings.com\/2017\/01\/31\/roundup-tragedy-to-pull-mps-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Roundup: Tragedy to pull MPs together"},"content":{"rendered":"

The aftermath of the Ste-Foy mosque shooting was not atypical for when things go horribly in this country. MPs and political leaders of all stripes band together and make a show of solidarity. There are solemn speeches<\/a>, and a moment of silence, and for as much as everyone decries the level of partisanship that permeates the hallowed halls of our democratic institutions, they all do put on a united front, that this is our country and we won\u2019t allow it to succumb to violence and darkness based on the actions of a lone few.<\/p>\n

As for the facts of the incident, what we know is that the suspect<\/a> is a 27-year-old white male whose social media history has a lot of far-right connections. He was charged with six counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder, and there may yet be terrorism-related charges once the RCMP and the Quebec police forces complete their investigations. Talk of a second shooter or suspect turned out to be a witness<\/a> on the scene who called 911 and was trying to help the wounded when he fled at the sight of police guns.<\/p>\n

And then comes the aftermath. In a scrum following QP, Ralph Goodale offered assurances of police vigilance and noted that he wasn\u2019t increasing the terror threat level from its current reading of \u201cmedium,\u201d for what that\u2019s worth. There is also speculation that this will be added impetus<\/a> for the Commons to pass that private members\u2019 motion on a study of Islamophobia in Canada \u2013 something some Conservatives like Kellie Leitch are opposed to, calling it \u201cspecial status\u201d for Muslims. And then there was the White House, cravenly using the incident to justify<\/a> their \u201cMuslim ban,\u201d even though the suspect is an alleged white supremacist.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephaniecarvin\/status\/826239354997727236<\/p>\n

In commentary, John Ivison notes that moments like those today were when the Commons is at its best<\/a>. Chantal H\u00e9bert noted that Trudeau has been silent<\/a> about Trump\u2019s \u201cMuslim ban\u201d while this has been going on. Deepak Obhrai, however, made the explicit link<\/a> between the two. Michael Chong has also been vocal<\/a> in drawing links between this incident and the rise in demagoguery, which he wants more politicians to stop engaging in. Robyn Urback looks at how the first twelve hours after the shooting were a giant exercise in confirmation bias<\/a> as people struggled to fit the facts with their personal narratives.<\/p>\n

Good reads:<\/p>\n