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Bob Collins

The fleeting moments of unity

OTTAWA, CANADA - OCTOBER 23: In this handout photo provided by the PMO, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (R) and all Members of Parliament applaud Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms, during the reopening of Parliament on October 23, 2014 in Ottawa, Canada. The gunman, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was shot and killed by Kevin Vickers while still inside the Parliament building. (Photo by Jason Ransom/PMO via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, CANADA - OCTOBER 23: In this handout photo provided by the PMO, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (R) and all Members of Parliament applaud Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms, during the reopening of Parliament on October 23, 2014 in Ottawa, Canada. The gunman, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was shot and killed by Kevin Vickers while still inside the Parliament building. (Photo by Jason Ransom/PMO via Getty Images)

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It was a lovely moment this morning when the Canadian House of Commons had a special sitting with its leadership led into the chambers by Kevin Vickers, the sergeant at arms who saved members' lives by shooting and killing the man who had invaded Parliament Hill.

No doubt the members will one day soon again launch rhetorical grenades at the opposition. But not this day.

It was a reminiscent of 9/11, when Republican and Democrats on Capitol Hill spontaneously joined together to sing a song.

It takes a fair amount of suffering to create these moments.