St. Albert’s MP was on his way to Parliament Hill when a reservist was shot at the National War Memorial.
On Wednesday morning, shots rang out at the memorial and in Parliament, shaking the nation, leaving MPs and staff in lockdown and the country wondering what’s happened.
Brent Rathgeber lives about 10 minutes away from Parliament and was walking to work when he got the call from his staff, telling him of the shooting and expecting a lockdown to occur imminently.
“Sure enough by the time I got about two blocks away they contacted me to tell me the building was locked down,” Rathgeber said, speaking from his Ottawa apartment on Wednesday afternoon. “By that time sirens and police cars were everywhere, coming down Bank Street, going down Wellington Street, and by the time I got about a block away the police had set up a barricade.”
Rathgeber was advised by House of Commons security that they were telling all MPs who weren’t already in lockdown to “go back from whence we came.”
Sirens could be heard in the background as Rathgeber told the Gazette he’s been in touch with his office staff every half an hour or so. They’re located in the Confederation Building and were still in lockdown when the MP spoke to the Gazette.
At the time, no one knew if more gunmen were still on the loose. One was confirmed dead by Ottawa police.
Having viewed video taken by an Ottawa-based reporter for the Globe and Mail online, Rathgeber said the caucuses, which meet on Wednesday mornings, would have been mere metres away from where gunfire occurred in the Hall of Honour in Centre Block.
Rathgeber said there’s not much known about the gunman, so there’s no way to know if he was aware it was caucus meeting day and that the prime minister and opposition leaders and their MPs would be there.
The House of Commons’ sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers is being credited with shooting the attacker, and Rathgeber said he knows Vickers well.
“The quick thinking of individuals like that kept a terrible, terrible situation (from) becoming … one that could have been truly catastrophic,” Rathgeber said.
Ottawa has always felt safe to Rathgeber, who was afraid in the aftermath that public access to the government buildings and the grounds around Parliament likely will be limited.
“That’s very, very unfortunate because this is the apex of Canadian democracy and it belongs to all Canadians.”
It’s heart-wrenching to hear another member of the Canadian Forces has died, he said, and noted it appears from the week’s events that there’s some suspicion that military members are being targeted.
“That’s a very changed position for Canada, we generally look to our military with reverence,” Rathgeber said.
Rathgeber could observe from his apartment that the nearby Ukrainian embassy appeared to be evacuated.
“There’s very few people moving around on the streets. The stores are all closed. People in the government buildings can’t leave, and nobody can go in, so it’s essentially a ghost town,” he said.
It’s too soon to tell the full effect of the day’s events, Rathgeber said, but he said it appears we are no longer immune from terrorism.
“Our country has been largely immune but I guess that ends now,” he said. “This is a game changer and not a good one.”
