RCMP DESERVE SUPPORT, NOT CRITICISM
I would like to request that people please cease criticizing the RCMP for not using the Nova Scotia Public Alert System during the horrible massacre last weekend.
There were more than 20 Nova Scotia residents killed and there are 16 different crime scenes. The perpetrator of all these crimes must have spent much time and thought in planning these unconscionable acts. His use of both a police uniform and mock-up police cruiser gave him an obvious edge in avoiding immediate suspicion and detection. The element of time was certainly on his side as was the timing of his evil acts. He was well prepared in terms of guns, ammunition and accelerant used to ignite the fires.
The RCMP responded as they always do, determined to bring a quick resolution to the crimes in progress.
Maybe I would agree with people who are protesting the ultimate failure to use the Nova Scotia Public Alert System if I also failed to recognize that, clearly, the police were involved in an investigation into the most diverse, widespread, fastmoving and deadly crime spree to have ever taken place on Canadian soil. Time was not a luxury to the RCMP as either a policing agency or to its individual members as human beings. Const. Heidi Stevenson had every reason to live and only one reason to sacrifice her life. She chose that less selfish more noble option, the one she had sworn to 23 years earlier – to serve and protect – to maintain the right.
Everybody is blessed with hindsight. Like Sunday evening coaches and quarterbacks, it is very easy to be critical of the play after the game is over and you have already watched it. It is significantly more difficult to be negative in your comments when you are the one on the field during the game, when you have a dog in the race and when the other team is literally trying to kill you. It is also infinitely more difficult to make good decisions when the opposing side is changing every known rule as the game progresses.
We are blessed to have the RCMP in Canada. Too often we have seen too many of their members laid to rest in the pursuit of peace and justice within our provinces and territories. Mayerthorpe , Alta., Moncton and now Portapique and other nearby communities have each left clear evidence of the selfless dedication of our national police force.
This latest incident will be thoroughly investigated and some changes will be made. Of this I am certain. But, for the present time, all Nova Scotians and, indeed, all Canadians should demonstrate our heartfelt appreciation for the efforts of the RCMP during this past weekend. They were trying to reap grain during a blizzard. The cost was their own - our own.
Ray Morrison
River Ryan