I was shocked by the shooting in Ottawa yesterday, shocked that a gunman killed a soldier at honour guard, and then tried to kill more people in the Parliament building. The timing of the attack, during caucus meetings when so many of our MP’s would be in two rooms on opposite sides of the hall of honour, is unlikely to be a coincidence. The murderous intent seems clear. Whether this man was acting on his own or as part of a larger organization, his intent was clear; to terrorize us.

I confess that my greatest worry yesterday was not for the soldier or his surviving family, nor for our Parliamentarians under lockdown, or for the security and police chasing the gunman and protecting the public, though I expended a lot of energy worrying and hoping for those people. My greatest worry was that in the aftermath of the shooting that we as a people would be terrorized by the attack, and would set about changing our way of life, our attitude toward open government and a free democracy, and that we would turn our eyes suspiciously at our neighbours and start assuming that those of different faiths than us are our enemies. These were my fears.

Then I heard the the news on CBC, and heard that it was being provided to us in a way that was measured, careful, calm, and rational. I felt a little better.

I saw on Twitter the reports that the Ottawa Police issued a statement that was carefully worded to include all religious communities in the city, but was clearly meant specifically for the Muslim community. This statement made it clear that violence toward that community arising out of the shooting would be treated as a top priority by the police, that relations between that community and the police were strong and the police intended to see that continue. I felt a little better.

I heard on the news, after the lockdown was lifted, several MPs speak about their experiences, and speak about the openness of Parliament, and about the adequacy of security on the Hill. The opinions I heard ranged from “Don’t change anything, don’t be beaten by the politics of fear (thanks Charlie)” to “Security should be tightened, but we must not give up our open Parliament.” None of the MPs I’ve heard, people who were ostensibly the targets of the gunman, and who were separated by the shooting from a wall and a door, were in favour of closing Parliament to the public. I felt better still.

Then this morning, I heard that Prime Minister Harper intended for the MPs to sit in the house today, business as usual, and with all the other MPs and carry on the messy work of running our democracy. I heard that the MPs were in agreement, and I saw video of them give our Sergeant at Arms a standing ovation in the House of Commons. And now I feel a lot better.

There is still a risk that we can slide into panic and terror, we must be on guard not only over our country but also over our emotions. We need to recover from our shock, grieve with the fallen, share this pain together, but we cannot let it rule our hearts. To do so would be to throw away the very things that make our nation great.

Not everything about Canada is great and good, as a nation we are getting a lot of things wrong now. Our treatment and dealings with our indigenous peoples is shameful; we are callously degrading and fouling our environment; we are equally callously ignoring our poor and needy. These are a few of the things we need to do better, and fast. But yesterday we got it right in the face of a terrible threat. Today we are still getting it right. Never have I felt so proud to live in this country, to be a part of this nation. Today, I can say without reservation that I am  proud of the men and women who run this nation, and really, how often can any Canadian say that? 

Update: Sounds like, from various video feeds I’ve seen, that the gallery is open today. One day after a shooting, and the public is back in the building, in the main chamber. They must have been able to see the bullet-holes still in the walls as they approached the stairs to the gallery. Sometimes I love this country.