We are a country that stands united in our effort to defeat a pandemic to save lives, and to help each other make it to a better day. But yesterday, we were jolted from that common cause by the senseless violence and tragedy in Nova Scotia. A gunman claimed the lives of at least 18 people, among them a woman in uniform whose job it is to protect lives, even if it endangers her own. Constable Heidi Stevenson of the R.C.M.P. This happened in small towns: Portapique, Truro, Milford and Enfield are places where people have deep roots. Places where people know their neighbors, and look out for one another. There everyone knows a Mountie because they’re everything from police officers to social workers to teen counselors. Now these communities are in mourning, and Canada is in mourning with them. Such a tragedy should have never occurred. Violence of any kind has no place in Canada. We stand with you, and we grieve with you, and you can count on our government’s full support.