| MPP Arnott Addresses Terrorist Attacks in Speech to Legislature
Waterloo-Wellington MPP Ted Arnott made the following statement in response to the Government's resolution on the terrorist attacks on the United States. He spoke on September 24, 2001:
Mr Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): I was working in my riding office on September 11 at 9 am, the day the world changed. Shortly after 9 I was speaking on the phone with Mrs Betty MacDougall, a lady I know in Harriston. She told me that she had just seen a plane crash into the World Trade Center in New York live on television. At first I thought she was kidding. Then it occurred to me that this lady, who had lived in a coastal town on the English Channel during World War II, whose husband, Tuffy MacDougall, was a veteran of the Battle of Normandy, would never joke about a thing such as this.
I had to leave my office a few minutes later to attend an event in Kitchener, a sod-turning for a new nursing home. As I was driving there I listened to the CBC, listened as a shocked reporter described the images of first one and then both of the twin towers collapsing to the ground in ash and flame and in blood. Then came the rumours: the crash at the Pentagon and finally the crash in Pennsylvania. Like everyone, I was stunned, incredulous at the scope of this mass murder, this act of terrorist war declared on us by suicidal fanatics and their cruel handlers. Like everyone, I spent the next three evenings riveted to the television in an attempt to gain an understanding of what was happening and why.
On the Friday of that fateful week, I attended a memorial service in Kitchener at city hall where over 1500 gathered on a few hours' notice to share their grief, their sadness and their prayers for the innocent airline passengers and crew, the firefighters, the police and emergency medical service staff who had lost their lives. We prayed for their families and for humanity on a day when evil seemed to have seized the upper hand.
Thirteen days ago, painfully and without warning, we were assaulted with the realization that even in our time, not just in history, unspeakable evil not only exists, but it is capable of inflicting horrific carnage on the civilized world. We must take steps to protect our families and our citizens from such evil, even as we ask God to guide the decisions of our leaders in the weeks ahead. We know not where the path of resolve and resistance to terror will lead but, with God's help, evil will never win out in the end.
This is not a religious war. In fact, we know that it has nothing to do with religion. The terrorist leaders may claim to be Muslims, but their evil acts betray the fact that their beliefs are a perversion of Islam. This is why all of us as members must condemn harassment or threats of violence committed against Canadians who adhere to the Islamic faith. And we must support our American friends in every way possible and in every request they make of us.
The reality of geography means that our security in this conflict is inextricably linked with the United States. The reality of economics means that our prosperity is inextricably linked with the United States. And the reality of our bonds of friendship and affection demand nothing less than unconditional support.
In our vast country, devoted to peace but courageous and fearsome when called to arms, we have sought the shelter of security under the NATO umbrella for decades. We must not now shirk our responsibility, but ask to take our turn in holding it. We must do our part.
I close with the same message of solidarity and hope that President Roosevelt sent Prime Minister Churchill in 1941, and I say to our American friends:
Sail on, O ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity, with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
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