I would imagine most Canadian visitors here have heard about this, but for those who haven't and for foreign visitors here's a link to coverage of todays horrible RCMP shooting in Alberta. 4 officers were shot dead by an armed man at a rural marijuana grow operation. The gunman is also dead, but its not clear yet if it was by his own hand or by return fire from the dead officers.

It will be interesting to see what effect if any this shooting has on efforts to decriminalise or even legalise pot in Canada. Some folks will no doubt argue that this shows the dangers of loosening pot controls, while others will argue that things like this only happen because its illegal. From a personal standpoint this hits slightly close to home, as my cousin's eldest son is a rookie RCMP officer serving here in Saskatchewan. I imagine any anxieties he and his wife have about their child serving in a potentially dangerous profession will be somewhat brought to the fore for the next little while.