The fleeting moments of unity

It was a lovely moment this morning when the Canadian House of Commons had a special sitting with its leadership led into the chambers by Kevin Vickers, the sergeant at arms who saved members’ lives by shooting and killing the man who had invaded Parliament Hill.

No doubt the members will one day soon again launch rhetorical grenades at the opposition. But not this day.

It was a reminiscent of 9/11, when Republican and Democrats on Capitol Hill spontaneously joined together to sing a song.

It takes a fair amount of suffering to create these moments.