Nutt: Who had the right response to the Boston Marathon attack, Justin Trudeau or Stephen Harper?

The ones who had the right response to the marathon bombings were the people of Boston and President Obama: appeals for calm, to support those in need, and to not rush to judgment while being firm and clear about the heinous nature of such a brutal attack on civilians. Time will tell whether this was wrought by a tortured mind or a tortuous ideology, or both. It is criminal, it is terrorism, and it is morally reprehensible. Harper’s condemnation of those responsible and his expression of solidarity were appropriate, and Trudeau’s comments about needing to determine what factors may have led an individual or individuals to such misdeeds were not inappropriate. It’s regrettable and insensitive that this tragedy was used at all as an excuse to take partisan pot shots. Here at home, we have asked similar questions to Trudeau’s about the young Canadian men from London, Ontario who participated in the terrorist attack in Algeria. How did they end up there? What led them to a global terrorist organization? And what were the processes – and people – that contributed to their radicalization? The search for answers in Boston is ongoing, and the questions will continue, as they should. Let’s just keep the politics out of it – it is an affront to those whose lives were violently torn apart that day.