Olds resident and Gulf War veteran Leslie Manchur says in the wake of the murder of two soldiers, those who guard Parliament Hill and provincial legislatures, etc., should be armed with live ammunition.
She also believes the number of people in the military needs to be increased, but she stopped short of calling for mandatory service in the Armed Forces, as is the case in many other countries.
“I believe that all personnel involved in our country's safekeeping should be protected – to be able to do their job,” Manchur said during an interview with the Albertan.
Asked if that meant providing them with live ammunition, she said, “I believe -- yes.”
In the meantime, she says, all Canadians need to be more vigilant and watch for suspicious activity.
On October 20 and 22, two members of the Canadian Armed Forces were killed by Canadian citizens who appeared to side with Islamist extremists.
Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed when he was run down by a car in a parking lot in a Montreal suburb. Another Armed Forces member was injured. The suspect, Martin Rouleau, was shot and killed by police at the scene.
Two days later, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was killed after being shot while guarding the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The suspect, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was later killed by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers after he ran into the Parliament buildings.
Manchur says her reaction to those events was “disbelief, shock.”
“Having been in the first Gulf War, it really hits home to me,” she adds. “We in the military have always been trained to deploy and be prepared to serve overseas in wars. But never would I have believed that this could happen in our own territory with our military on duty for our country.
“My heart goes out to the soldiers, their family. I believe it was a direct threat on our sovereignty and our country.”
