It was supposed to be just another caucus meeting just off the Hall of Honour in the House of Commons for Earl Dreeshen and other members of the Conservative Party of Canada.
But just before 10 a.m. on Oct. 22 that all changed for the more than 175 MPs, party staff and the prime minister.
“We heard a noise but there was a lot of construction going on and we didn't think much of it until we heard a lot of hollering. The yelling got louder and we started to hear shots being fired and they were right outside of the door,” said Dreeshen in an interview with the Province late last week before coming to Innisfail to lay a wreath at the cenotaph in honour of last week's two fallen soldiers. “The only thing between us and them was a door, and of course it's going to echo in the chamber. We were on the other side. At that time we didn't know what was really taking place.”
Dreeshen and his colleagues were less than four metres away from the gunfire booming in the cavernous Hall of Honour. Many of the MPs and party staff inside the caucus room were former military personnel or retired police officers, and they instinctively acted to ensure their security, and to make sure Prime Minister Stephen Harper was safe.
“We went into a defensive mode and piled chairs up in front of the doors, and locked the side door,” said Dreeshen. “As we were doing this there were more shots fired.”
The group was locked down in the caucus room for the next eight hours with nothing to drink or eat. There was plenty of time to think, but never any panic. They knew police were handling the situation and they were secure from the threat outside their door.
“Once we realized what happened at the war memorial our thoughts went into that direction. We knew we were safe,” said Dreeshen.
The shocking incident in Ottawa began when gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was on honorary guard duty at the National War Memorial. Zehaf-Bibeau then got into a car and made the short drive to Parliament Hill. He eventually stormed through the front doors of the Centre Block brandishing a large rifle. He was then shot dead by Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons. Two days earlier Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed in a deliberate hit-and-run vehicle attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montreal.
Dreeshen, with several days to reflect on the events of October 20 and 22, said he believes Canadians will now realize terrorism is a worldwide threat that has to be recognized, a threat now taking place in their own country.
“It was targeted. What happened at the war memorial was targeted against our country,” he said. “It's going to make people realize that no one is immune from this threat, which is worldwide.”
