Mr. Speaker, what happened last week in New York was an unspeakable act of cowardice and evil. It is understandable and natural that we all feel grief and anger over Tuesday's assaults on our neighbours to the south. These were vicious attacks on innocent people.
However let us not give into the temptation of blaming entire groups for the actions of a select few. Let us reserve our wrath for the guilty. To direct our anger at innocent people, particularly based on their religion or ethnicity, would be the worst possible response.
Let us not allow terrorism to win. Let us not give in to fear and hate. Let us remember the openness that makes us vulnerable is also the freedom that makes us great. There will be steps that we must take to increase our security, but we must also be extremely cautious so as to preserve our liberty.