Huron Expositor, 2014-06-18, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, June 18, 2014
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Canada'
editorial
As we grieve RCMP,
let's fend for all of us
The sea of red serge.
The grieving widow, pregnant; her other
child held by an RCMP officer.
The police dog, whimpering for its master gone
forever.
The images from the regimental funeral of the
three Mounties slain in New Brunswick are indeli-
bly seared in our national psyche, an enduring
reminder that policing — even in a relatively law-
abiding country like Canada — is one of the most
dangerous occupations.
Mercifully few but hugely powerful, the mass
gatherings of thousands of police officers to salute
colleagues killed in the line of duty are first and
foremost a fitting way to honour the men and
women who, in an instant, can lose their life as they
keep the rest of us safe.
Those same solemn ceremonies also telescope to
the public the enormous risks that come with polic-
ing, reinforcing generally widespread acceptance
that officers need the best equipment and training
we can give them to do the dangerous jobs we ask of
them.
Would that the same public understanding, the
same safety -at -all -costs thinking, would attend the
many other dangerous jobs out there — from con-
struction to manufacturing and farming — that take
a terrible toll in workplace deaths each year.
If it did, maybe the price paid would fall and we'd
no longer accept the oxymoronic idea of workplace
"accidents."
An officer deliberately gunned down while a per-
petrator is committing a crime, and a worker ldlled
in a fall, are not the same thing. One is murder; the
other, an easily preventable tragedy.
But while the public rightly asks tough questions
when officers give their lives, too often we do not
when others are killed on the job.
Yes, there are labour departments to investigate
and workplace safety laws to uphold, even a
national day of mourning for Canadians killed on
the job.
But there's nothing like a national public insist-
ence on safe workplaces, a sense of outrage when
civilian workers are killed on the job.
If there were, Canadians wouldn't be dying at
work at the rate they are now: almost three a day,
nearly 1,000 a year.
When three officers give their lives at work to pro-
tect others, it's worth asking what we're willing to
pay on the job to keep ourselves safe.
Playing the blame game
With
break-
ing
reports flying
fast and furious,
folks all across
the country sat
glued to their TV
screens on June
4. Mesmerized
by the shocking
chain of events which crippled
Moncton, N.B.
For me, it was a post on
social media that caught my
attention.
A friend from years ago, who
now lives out east, found her-
self in her family home,
smack-dab in the middle of
the search area.
I couldn't even imagine what
that would feel like.
To be helpless and left at the
mercy of a murderer, trusting
the authorities to keep you
safe when in fact, they weren't
able to save their own.
Things like this just don't
happen here.
When a 24 -year-old man
goes on a shooting spree,
you're surely watching news
from our neighbours down
south.
We're not like that.
We're Canadian.
Unfortunately this type of
violence has no prejudice, and
doesn't know what side of the
border it's on.
As the weeks went on, I've
started to hear the usual
reports.
A public outcry for stricter
gun laws and less violent video
games was heard, as people
searched for some way to
explain just what went wrong.
But what people are failing
to realize, as they have many
times before, is the problem
goes so much deeper.
Even in this day and age,
mental illness is something
people still don't talk about.
And when a tragedy such as
this is thrown into the
Colum
Whitney
Huron Exp
South
ositor
spotlight,people are
quick to point fin-
gers and place
blame.
And it starts from
a young age.
According to the
Canadian Mental
Health Association,
only one out of
every five Canadian
children who need mental
health assistance receives it.
Justin Bourque was not one
of the lucky ones.
There have been reports his
parents had desperately tried
to get their son help.
Recognizing the signs of
someone deeply disturbed,
they contacted doctors and
even the police themselves,
but nothing could be done.
According to the CBC, every
province has mental health
legislation that allows police to
detain individuals who are
believed to pose a risk. Those
individuals are then taken to a
psychiatric facility where they
can be confined for various
periods of time so they can be
assessed and treated.
But obtaining enough proof
that an individual is a threat
and should be detained can be
difficult.
Basically, it has to be
exhibited.
But by that time, couldn't it
be too late?
We never see it coming.
Or do we?
Having a mental illness is in
no way an excuse for violent
behavior, but it is something
that needs to be addressed
more often in our society.
Steps need to be taken to
prevent the escalation of cases
like this. We need to open our
eyes and realize people need
help.
Three RCMP officers lost
their lives that day, and to
blame that tragedy on some-
thing as simplistic as a gun or
a video game just isn't right.
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