HOW DO WE RESPOND TO MAYERTHORPE?

Few incidents hit with the sledgehammer impact of last week's killing of
four police officers in rural Alberta.

How do you even begin to process that information? Four young men,
dedicated to protecting our society, are dead after one brief, inexplicable
burst of gunfire.

We don't expect these things to happen in Canada. We tend to go through our
days with a smug assumption that we, as a nation, are above such acts of
violence. It is an attitude that is even more prevalent in rural communities.

The violence that struck Mayerthorpe on March 3 exposes that lie and forces
us to take a careful look at our own communities.

Canada is not immune to horrific acts of violence. Small rural towns are
not the safe little enclaves we all desire.

Apparently that small Alberta town has a big problem with illegal marijuana
grow operations and meth labs.

Neighbours of James Roszco, the man it is said is responsible for these
deaths, have described him as a violent individual with a love of guns.

Somehow it is easy to see police officers in a lot of small towns nodding
their heads as they recognize the pictures being drawn. It is unlikely
Mayerthorpe is that different from a lot of small towns in Canada. You have
to wonder how police officers will respond to calls to isolated properties
in the wake of these shootings.

Having said all that, how do we now react to this?

Sadly the families of these four young men, along with all their grief,
must now watch the deaths of their sons, husbands and brothers politicized.

We may all find it distasteful, but it seems inevitable. Already people are
questioning the wisdom of decriminalizing marijuana in light of these
murders. Others argue this is further justification for its legalization.

One can also guess at how this will fit into the gun debate with one side
arguing this is more evidence for the need for greater controls, while the
other asks why a gun registry didn't keep a high powered rifle out of this
criminal's hands.

Will these debates really change as a result of this incident? It seems
unlikely. Hopefully the memory of four young police officers does not
become too much of a political football.

There are serious questions to be answered after something like this.

How was this situation allowed to develop?

Somehow an angry, heavily armed man who hated authority decided the only
recourse for dealing with Mounties on his property was to shoot them.
Furthermore, those Mounties were apparently unprepared to deal with the
situation.

How did that happen? How can we stop it from happening again? Those are the
questions that need to be answered. It should be an honest and open
discussion without any political grandstanding. The lives of those four
young men are worth at least that much.