Let's Take a Minute to Reflect Before Acting

There were two attacks in Canada this week on military personnel and an attack on parliament. I am left with one pressing question in the back of my head. Is our government exploiting a tragedy to further its political agenda?

It is understandable that Canadians want answers and want changes so the chances of these kinds of attacks are minimised. But the speed at which the Conservatives whipped into action was quite remarkable. Stephen Harper took to television not even 12 hours later to condemn it as a terrorist attack. Harper made it very evident that Canada was taking a hard line approach to terrorism and that Canada “will not be intimidated.”

I could focus on the word terrorism and how politically charged a word that is. But I would rather focus my energy on the fact that legislation aimed at beefing up security to fight terrorism was already in the works before the events of this week.

It was only 24 hours after the killing of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and the attack on parliament that Harper stood in front of that very House of Commons saying “our laws and police powers need to be strengthened in the area of surveillance, detention and arrest…that work which is already underway will be expedited.” I don’t think anyone can ever say too soon when Harper barely waited 24 hours to push the party agenda forward. It is never too soon to criticise the government response, because the government does not wait. This too soon tactic is meant to shut down any significant debate to the contrary.

In his address to the House of Commons he outlines the fact that laws that were already being tabled will be sped up because of this current tragedy. There are many critics who are hesitant to act in a reactionary way. That we should not make drastic changes to our security measures just because of two incidents.

There was also news of this new proposed legislation that I felt was completely glossed over. Peter MacKay stated legislation would include “pre-emptive actions specifically in the area of terrorism, but not to rule out areas in which we think we can prevent crime." This is a public admission that this legislation is not just for stopping terrorists. It feels to me as if the Conservative government is using this opportunity to push legislation that they want, but that doesn't necessarily meet the concerns of Canadians. This quote gives immediate credence to the people who believe this is a slippery slope. That if given this ability, it will inevitably be used for other purposes.

I understand that Canadians are scared. The events of this week were very traumatic and jarring. It crossed party lines, as we saw when the party leaders hugged it out. But is the current government playing off the fear and irrationality of Canadians at this time to further their political agenda? I would say it is no secret that the Conservative government have these ideals as part of their platform.

I really don’t think the party that you support matters. I don’t think this is the time to push a political agenda. Canadians are still recovering and the wound is still fresh. Let’s let it scab over a little bit before putting on some ointment.