Northerners call Ottawa shooting 'surreal'

For some, the shooting in Ottawa yesterday was, "a day like no other."

Ryan Leef, the Member of Parliament for Yukon, was in a caucus meeting in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill Wednesday morning, waiting for the Prime Minister to make his address. 

Yukon Senator Dan Lang was there too. 

Lang recalls when the first shots in Centre Block were fired, many people in the room weren't sure what they were hearing.

"Initially, the two noises were kind of muffled and it sounded like there was something that perhaps had dropped or something outside where we were meeting," Lang said. "Then all of a sudden … there was a number of noises which obviously you realize is gunfire." 

Leef says as one of the many MPs and Senators who are trained police officers, his first reaction was to block the doors in the room where the meeting was taking place. 

He said at the time, all he could think about was making sure no one left the room — and no one got in. 

"I can't say … I was thinking a lot about what the consequences would be or what was going on outside," Leef said. "You know, I was focused … to make sure that the single task I had at hand was to monitor one door and guard it and not let anyone through."

Both Leef and Lang say people were calm and orderly while waiting to hear exactly what was happening.

And finally they heard that Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed while standing guard at the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just before 10 a.m. ET.

"Really, then, our thoughts were turning to them and their families and what a tragic situation that was," Leef said. 

'A game changer for all Canadians'

Lang, who is the chairman for the Security and Defence Committee for the Senate, says yesterday's shooting is a testament to what Canadians are facing.

"It really brings home what we're facing as a country and the world in respect to the issue of terrorism and how it's affecting us."

In hearings held last Monday, which included representatives from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Lang says the Senate was looking at security in the country and what the federal government can do to ensure the safety of Canadians. 

"I think there obviously is a heightened threat [in Canada]. This is a game changer for all Canadians."

Sergeant-at-Arms served in the North

One Canadian who many people see as a hero today is Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, one of the officers on Parliament Hill who helped take down the suspect who shot Cpl. Cirillo.

In the House of Commons today, Vickers carried in the ceremonial mace and received a standing ovation from Members of Parliament. 

• RAW: Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers receives standing ovation

​Vickers has a long career with the RCMP, including time spent in the North. 

His brother Will Vickers, a teacher at Weledeh Catholic School in Yellowknife, says Kevin served in 1979 in Behchoko, N.W.T., and then moved on to Yellowknife and Fort Resolution. 

Will says when he heard about the shooting yesterday, he knew his brother would be on the front line.

He sent Kevin a text message yesterday morning, simply asking for a "yes" to indicate he was OK.

"Willy, I'm just fine," the text message read.

Vickers says yesterday was a "pretty emotional day" for the whole family, including his 87-year-old mother.

He says he's proud of his brother, who's always been "my hero in a way." 

"He loves this country so much," Vickers said. 

"After a day like yesterday and then going back to work today, I know he really tried to hold it together and I think he did well."