Canada has changed forever following the targeted killings last week of two military officers by men that police say were motivated by extremist religious beliefs.
Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed in what police are calling a targeted hit-and-run MVI in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec on Oct. 20.
Police killed driver Martin Couture-Rouleau in the ensuing car chase.
Two days later, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was standing on guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, was killed by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau who shot Cirillo twice with a rifle at point-blank range.
Zehaf-Bibeau, still carrying his rifle, then raced to the Parliament Buildings and pushed his way past a security guard after a brief struggle that resulted in Const. Samearn Son getting a gunshot wound to his leg.
Minutes later the attacker was shot and killed by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
Parliament was locked down until around 8 p.m. that evening.
Then the questions started flying and the horror of the two killings started to sink in.
How could someone just run up to a guard at the National War Memorial and kill him in broad daylight and then make his way past security and into the bowels of the Parliament Buildings?
These issues will be investigated, security at legislatures across the country will be beefed up significantly, and MPs will support a bill that gives the RCMP more powers in the surveillance and arrests of known and suspected terrorists in Canada.
These will be relatively quick fixes.
However, it will take longer for Canadians to get over their loss of innocence – the wake-up call that Canada is not insulated from the events going on in the rest of the world.
Even though Canada was warned about retaliation when it decided to go to war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) militants in Iraq, we did not expect to have our military men and women become targets of Canadian residents who were allegedly influenced by ISIS radicalism.
We didn't expect to have members of our military murdered on Canadian soil while doing routine daily tasks.
We need to remember these two men who gave their lives while standing on guard.
We need to remember what all of our military men and women – both present and past – have done, and are doing, so we can have the peaceful, respectful, democratic lives we enjoy today.
We need to remember the loss of lives, suffering and sacrifices that our military men and women have given to us to remain free – not only on Remembrance Day (Nov. 11) but every day of the year.
Lastly, we need to remember to be vigilant, so we are being proactive in maintaining our way of life.