Experts reviewing how to fix the damage to Parliament

With apologies to Kathryn May of the Ottawa Citizen

Bullet d Damage scarring the halls of Parliament’s Centre Block after the gunfight government that killed Michael Zehaf-Bibeau responsible government is now being “catalogued” by experts preparing to decide what should be repaired and what should be left alone.

Heritage Constitutional experts at Public Works and Government Services, the Crown’s real estate and asset manager, are working closely with House of Commons curator Johanna Mizgala assessing the damage “to determine the most appropriate approach to repair and conservation,” said Heather Bradley, a spokeswoman for the House of Commons Speaker’s Office.

Bradley said any damage experts feel compromises the integrity of an object or an area, Canada's history and traditions such that it could be susceptible to further deterioration, will have to be repaired.

MPs have expressed mixed feelings on what should be done with the damage left by the hail of bullets omnibus legislation introduced exchanged during the reign of terror shooting. Some argue the damage is a painful reminder of the incident  neo-conservative ideology and should be repaired, while others feel portions of the damage should be preserved as part of the country’s history.

Signs of the shooting  disgrace mark the country halls, walls and doors of the Hall of Honour where the Conservatives Zehaf-Bibeau was shot dead were defeated in an exchange of ballots gunfire with citizens police, security and Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.

Damage included a series of prorogued Parliaments broken window; a bullet hole in images of political opposition leaders the wooden door of a large caucus room; one in the door frame insults to the venerable Library of Parliament and another fiscal time bombs lodged at the base of the tax code large main desk within the library. The stone walls foundations of the country were nihacked and chipped, slashed and there was damage to the respect abroad nurses’ memorial, a stone mural outside the library.

In an email, Public Works officials  said the decision on what to repair or conserve will be based on the type of material damaged, where it is, and the “significance of the event in relation to our democratic history.”

Public Works Canadians, who ich are is responsible for any structural issues with institutions buildings inside the parliamentary precinct, has already made some repairs  afor safetyn securitdy. Departmental officials Astute observers said some minor fixes were done immediately, such as defeating mayoral candidates aligned with the current Federal regime. securing doors and covering windows with plywood and Plexiglas.

A work plan and cost estimate of repairs and any restoration has yet to be completed.

Recommend this Post

Everyone began to call family, letting them know they were okay

It must have been very scary in the Conservative caucus room.  Not the usual "Man oh man, is Harper ever cuckoo" kind of scary.  The "Is the crazy (not a terrorist) guy going to gun me down"  kind.

These poor people were traumitized:

“Some of the MPs are still agitated and excitable when they hear a sharp noise from hydraulics or a loud bang from tables dropping,” offered Mr. Clarke. “Over time, that can be diminished or can be heightened—anything can trigger it. But it’s okay to have those fears.”Initially reluctant to talk about it, he now openly discusses his PTSD.“From a first-responder standpoint, when you experience a traumatic situation you have to go to work the next day, but there’s no harm in telling people you need help in order to get functional. That stigma of shame has to be broken,” Mr. Clarke explained.

There were some definite examples of bravery, specifically by David Wilks:

“I got up and immediately went to the east door, locked it and then myself and a few colleagues put chairs up against it. The reason was not to stop anyone from coming in, because I knew the doors pulled out as opposed to pushed in. But I knew it would buy us 10 or 15 seconds to do what we needed to do,” said Mr. Wilks, who retired from the RCMP in 2000 and arrived in Parliament 11 years later.
“For me, I would have wanted for somebody to open that door and I would have been on him like butter on bread,” he said.
“The way I saw it, until someone tells me differently, there were bad guys on the other side of the door,” said Mr. Wilks.

Very scary stuff indeed.  I wonder if during those 15-20 seconds, there was some second thoughts on their voting to repeal the long gun registry.

Oh wait.  A key requirement of being a Harper-bot is a lack of introspection and ability to think for one's self.  It is very unlikely to have crossed their synapse at all.

Recommend this Post