The names Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent became familiar to Canadians last week for the saddest of reasons.
Cirillo, a reservist, was fatally shot Wednesday while standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa and, two days earlier, Vincent was run down by a man driving a car in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
Both acts appear to have been deliberate attacks on Canadian soldiers by men who were recently drawn to Islamist extremism, and the incidents bring the reality of terrorism much closer to home for all of us.
It is not that the two attacks threaten our sovereignty. They are in reality, so far, isolated cases, which while tragic, had a limited impact as terrorist attacks.
It is perhaps a sad reality of our time, but anyone could come up with attacks which would have been more disruptive.
What these two attacks did do was bring terrorism home for Canadians.
Certainly this country has had many soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan in recent years, but to be attacked on our own soil brings it much closer to where we all live.
As tragic as the attacks were, it is now up to Canadians to make sure we do not create a greater tragedy in the wake of the incidents.
It is easy to take massive leaps when something like the attacks happen.
We have heard calls for more sweeping powers for the police in terms of terrorism.
But is that a path we wish to go down? In the case of Ottawa shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau he had a significant arrest file, so do the police need more sweeping powers, or do judges need to be more realistic in dealing with those with records. As an example there have been reports Zehaf-Blibeau wanted more jail time to try and get his life in order. Instead, the system appears it may have put a ticking bomb back on our streets.
Then there is the disgusting incident in Cold Lake, AB. A mosque in the community had a brick thrown through its windows and a "go home" message was painted on the wall.
That sort of reaction should sicken Canadians nearly as much as the shooting.
The two soldiers killed wore the uniform of our country because they made the choice to play a frontline role in protecting our country, and what it stands for. In that respect Cpl. Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent shared a connection with the veterans we will pause to remember Nov. 11.
They were willing to give up their lives then and now so that we can enjoy freedoms for all Canadians regardless of which country our families originally emigrated from, when they arrived, what colour their skin, and what religion, if any, they follow.
If we do anything as Canadians following the deaths of Cpl. Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent which threaten such freedom and tolerance we will dishonour both men, and what the uniform they wore stood for, and that would be the greatest tragedy of all.
