Supplied - W. Lloyd MacKenzie - FlickrParliament Hill Shooting
Parliament Hill came under attack on Oct. 22, 2014 when Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was fatally shot while on ceremonial guard duty at the Canadian National War Memorial. The shooter, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, ran inside the Centre Block parliament building where members of parliament were meeting in caucus. Inside, he was cornered by security and shot and killed by Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers, who has subsequently been hailed as a hero.
The story spawned a debate over whether the RCMP was correct in classifying the attack as a “terrorist attack”; Zehaf-Bibeau had converted to Islam in 2004, but he also had a history of mental illness.
The shooting occurred the same week another radicalized Islamic man rammed two Canadian soldiers in Quebec, adding to Canadian concerns about homegrown extremism.
The Harper government was swift to use the incident as an opportunity to promote new counter-terrorism legislation, introducing Bill C-44 to give the national intelligence agency, CSIS, more powers of surveillance over Canadians.
Canada Brings Home the Bacon
Canada settled into third place at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, garnering a total of 25 medals, highlighted by 10 golds. The Canadian Olympic Team of 221 athletes competed in 14 events throughout the competition.
Canadian freestyle skiers and sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe finished in first and second respectively in women’s moguls. Justine Dufour-Lapointe became the youngest freestyle skiing gold medalist at the age of 19 years 321 days.
The men’s and women’s ice hockey teams repeated their success from the previous Olympic games, bringing home twin gold medals.
Four-time Olympic medalist Charles Hamelin won his third Olympic gold in the men’s 1,500-metre short track speed skate.
Russia came under strong criticism leading up to the games for a host of anti-gay laws that could potentially see gay athletes and attendees prosecuted.
Russia’s competence as a host nation was also questioned when it was revealed that the housing and amenities for athletes proved incomplete.
Many visitors to Sochi reported hotels without working plumbing, missing door handles, and incomplete infrastructure around the Olympic Village.
Rob Ford Keeps His Seat
Despite no longer holding the office of the mayor, Ford successfully defended his ward and will serve as a Toronto city councillor. His attempt to continue the Ford dynasty by handing over the keys to his brother and former fellow council member Doug failed when mayoral candidate John Tory was elected as Mayor of Toronto.
Rob Ford has declared he will run for re-election in 2018.
Magnotta Trial Begins
A chilling tale of torturous murder that made international headlines in 2012 finally reached a Quebec courtroom in September, and came to conclusion at the end of 2014. Luka Magnotta was alleged to have murdered and dissected Chinese international student Lin Jun. Packages with parts of Jun’s body were sent to political party offices, and two schools. Jun’s head was later recovered from a lake in Montreal.
After 12 weeks at trial, and the testimony of six different mental health experts, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all charges after deliberating for eight days.
Magnotta will serve a mandatory life sentence without eligibility for parole for 25 years.
