The second anniversary of the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was marked in Guelph, Hamilton and Windsor – but not in Ottawa, where Cirillo was shot and killed by a man who then stormed Parliament Hill.
Cirillo was standing guard at the National War Memorial on Oct. 22, 2014, when he was shot.
Two days earlier, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent had been killed when a car was driven into him and another soldier near Richelieu, Que.
Both attackers were described by police as radicalized Canadians.
On Saturday, a group called the Heroes Highway Ride organized a ride from Hamilton – the home of Cirillo’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment – to Guelph to commemorate the anniversary.
Once in Guelph, the riders met up with five Canadian military veterans who were forming a ceremonial guard at the city’s cenotaph.
“Sometimes we let our guard down and think that nothing will ever happen in Canada,” said Maurice Ferris, who served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 13 years.
“Nobody was expecting what happened in Ottawa.”
At Windsor’s cenotaph, military veteran Kevin Robson stood guard for 12 hours in remembrance of Cirillo and Vincent – something he said he plans to keep doing every Oct. 22.
"I will do it as long as I’m able to do it,” he said.
No public activities were planned in Ottawa for Saturday – which amazed Ferris.
“I haven’t heard too much about what’s going on in Ottawa, and that should be front and foremost – because that is where it happened,” he said.
The issue was raised in the House of Commons on Friday. First, Liberal MP David McGuinty paid tribute to Cirillo, who he called “a beautiful example of what the Canadian Armed Forces can represent.”
“He was full of humility, and he served a nation that is appreciative of his actions,” the Ottawa South MP said.
Half an hour later, during Question Period, Peter Van Loan – the Conservative MP for York-Simcoe – noted that there had been a public ceremony in 2015.
“Last year our government honoured the sacrifice of these men, but this year the Liberals want Canadians to forget,” he said. “Why are the Liberals dishonouring these fallen men and trying to pretend that these jihadist attacks never happened?”
Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr replied that the government would mark the deaths of Cirillo and Vincent on Nov. 11, along with other soldiers “who made the ultimate sacrifice, in wartime and in peace, at home and abroad, to safeguard our values and our way of life.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement Saturday recognizing the anniversary.
“I join all Canadians today in mourning the loss of Corporal Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent,” he said.
“These two members of the Canadian Armed Forces made the ultimate sacrifice for the country they loved. The most fitting tribute that we can pay them is defending the values that they so personified.”
With reporting by Allison Tanner and files from CTV Windsor
