He is the imposing figure with the mace who is seen during ceremonial openings of the Commons. But guess what? He also carries a gun and today Kevin Vickers is being lauded as the man who saved many lives by shooting down the armed intruder on Parliament Hill. His full name is Kevin Michael Vickers and he is a veteran RCMP officer. Now he is the 9th Sergeant of Arms of the House of Commons. Mr. Vickers was born on September 29, 1956 and it is not clear whether he sustained a wound in the process of dealing with the intruder. He has since mailed word that he is “okay”. MPs of all parties are tweeting and mailing thanks to and about Mr. Vickers. In 2009 Vickers was honoured by the Association of Progressive Muslims of Canada, for his “long outstanding service to” Canada, and for his “efforts to promote bias-free policing and diversity in the workplace”.
