CONSERVATIVE Party Leader Andrew Scheer on Monday in a statement on the anniversary of the attack at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec in Quebec City said that “this should not happen in Canada.”

He said: “Canadians across the country are coming together today to remember the victims of the shooting at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec on January 29, 2017.

“This shooting was an act of terror that shook the region, the province and the entire country. The victims were fathers and sons, brothers and husbands. They went to pray, and never returned home.

“It was for that last act – for practising their faith freely – that they were murdered in cold blood.

“This should not happen in Canada. Our country has always been a home for those seeking freedom and a better life. It must always be a place where believers of all faiths should feel safe and secure in their worship.

“An attack like this one is an attack on these very principles, those that have stood the test of time, and for which we have fought around the world.

“All Canadians must feel secure in their communities. They must feel safe living freely and practising their faith. An attack on their places of worship is an attack on the religious freedoms that we should all enjoy.

“We must therefore always be ready to defend our society, its tolerance and its freedoms from those who seek to undermine them.

“On behalf of the Conservative Caucus, my thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of the victims of that terrible day. May we join together as a nation to remember them, and vow to prevent similar tragedies in the future.”