When Faisal Hussain shot 14 people in the Danforth area of Toronto on Sunday, July 22, 2018, the tragedy triggered a now-familiar sequence of statements, denials, and misleading theories from the police, the mainstream media, and government officials. For the families of Julianna Kozis and Reese Fallon—the 10-year old and 18-year old girls who died—and all of those who were wounded and traumatized, this feel-good explaining-away of the possible Islamist motivations of the shooter does nothing to comfort and nothing to restore a sense of security.

Why do those responsible for the safety of Canadians and those whose job it is to report the news choose to grasp at straws and to construct alternative storylines when the bare facts scream terror?

Our first response, of course, to this gut-wrenching nightmare is to try to understand how the parents, families and friends of the victims must feel at the sudden loss of their dearly loved ones. The unexpected loss of any human life is hard to grasp; when that loss is the result of a premeditated decision by another human being, the pain and emotional wounding is that much deeper. How could any person begin to pull the trigger, not in a fit of rage, not in self-defence, but as a cold calculated plan to cause pain, confusion and fear? Our hearts break for those families, and we all pause to reflect on the value of human life, the depth of our gratitude for those whom we hold dear and for the preciousness of the time we have together in this life, even with all its unknowns and disappointments. We do pray with and for the families and friends of those who died and for the wounded survivors.

Our second response is to look for the cause in order to prevent it from happening again to other Canadian families, including our own. The most important responsibility of any government is to try to protect its citizens from harm and to create conditions favourable to security, to material comfort and health and to the well-being of those within its borders.

In this regard, governments at all levels and news outlets, upon whom many depend for responsible reporting, are failing Canadians. There is a narrative constantly expounded by Prime Minister Trudeau and his entourage of Islamist-promoting MPs and bureaucrats that radical Islam poses no threat to Canadians, that the vilification and persecution of Islam by others is the bigger problem. Incidents like the random shooting of peaceful, law-abiding citizens by a person with a name readily associated with Islam puts holes in this Liberal fantasy.

When the facts don’t line up with Liberal ideology, what do they do? Do they change their ideology? No, they change the facts . . . or at least they change how the facts are reported (or not reported, as the case may be). In this case, a proponent of Islam leapt to the defence of radical Islam by issuing a carefully-prepared statement—said to be a statement from the killer’s family—pointing to mental illness rather than any connection to Islamic jihad. I have no doubt that mental illness was a factor; no sane person could perform such a brutal act. But perhaps this brand of mental illness is either brought on through exposure to radical Islamist ideology or is focused and directed by it. Why are those in authority not addressing the question that every sane and stable Canadian is asking: was this an act of Islamist terror? It certainly was an act of terror, like the vehicular murder of 10 on Toronto’s Yonge Street on April 23 this year, but whether Islamist teachings provided motivation has yet to be determined.

People talk of mental illness as if it’s like a flu bug that hits people and they can’t help themselves. Meanwhile, we teach children in the public schools that they are nothing more than the random composite of molecules without meaning or purpose, that their very existence has to do with the law of the jungle: kill or be killed. Then we allow hate-spewing imams to proselytize impressionable young people with anti-Semitic, anti-Christian rhetoric and with calls for violence and martyrdom. When an individual like Faisal Hussain crosses the line from thought to action and from words to bloodshed, we allow the rhetoric to hide behind politely-unquestioned “mental health issues.” Still, whether justified or not, ISIS claims responsibility for the attack. We know they lie, but does not this claim deserve serious investigation?

I don’t claim to know the thoughts and motives of Faisal Hussain. But I do know that the Liberal thought police and their complicit tools in the media are going to great lengths to avoid any public connection of the dots in this and other terror events. If Canadians could trust this government and our government-funded CBC to accurately report and to investigate thoroughly—to follow the facts where they lead, rather than creating excuses for terrorists and radical ideologues—the rest of us might not be so tempted to question the narrative. Around the world, radical Islam has resulted in hundreds of attacks just like this one and the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent victims. Governments and police forces in Europe have simply accepted a ghastly new reality: gangs of selfish and sadistic young men roam the streets, raping and torturing women and girls. Whole sections of major cities have become no-go zones where not only peaceful citizens but the police themselves dare not enter.

Whatever facts emerge in this investigation, Canadians must begin taking steps to protect our country from the loss of dignity, security and meaning. We must not allow Canada to become the blood-soaked playground of Islamist terrorist thugs. If you believe Canada can and should resist the Islamist jihad and take steps to protect our citizens from a descent into anarchy and brutal lawlessness, join CHP Canada today. Stand for the truth and for freedom of speech. Stand for morality and righteousness. Your voice must be heard today. Tomorrow may be too late.