Canadian hero guard gets 'lifetime supply' of beer for defending MPs
When a gunman stormed the Canadian parliament, a guard, Alain Gervais, held a hallway door shut with his body so as not to let him through. Now with a little help from MPs he may be rewarded with lots of his favorite beer.
Gervais and his colleagues were applauded at the parliament by the people they protected last week from the shooter, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. Gervais apparently made a big impression on the MPs, who witnessed a bullet hitting and almost penetrating the interior door he was barring just next to where his head was.
Alain Gervais addressing NDP caucus, Alain was one of heroes of Oct 22 who put his life on line #thankyou#cdnpolipic.twitter.com/WH3cWKlm09
— Paul Dewar (@PaulDewar) October 29, 2014
New Democratic Party caucus chair Glenn Thibeau joked that they should show their gratitude to Gervais with a very special award.
“To see that officer stand there with bullets hitting the door, holding the door together with his arms, willing to give up his life for us, is something I will never, ever forget,” he said. “He has a family as well, and we just need to constantly make sure that that person never has to pay for a beer at any pub in the country for the rest of his life.”
Looks like challenge accepted by @RickardsBeer? Good work, Glenn. Hope it's a lifetime supply. http://t.co/QdWS8Nrgkapic.twitter.com/64H7TFQ7Y8
— Sara Brunetti (@sbrunetti) October 29, 2014
The comment was picked up online with Gervais's wife tweeting that he likes a Molson brewery brand of beer called Rickard’s. This made its way to the producer, which accepted the challenge.
"We will take good care of Alain," tweeted Gavin Thompson, Molson's head of corporate affairs. "We will make sure he gets a good supply of his fave beer!"
The company delivered several hundred bottles of beer to Gervais and his wife on Thursday afternoon.
OMG @MolsonGavin simply amazing @itsallaboutlaw: @GlennThibeault Look at what you started! Alain will be so shocked. pic.twitter.com/KwjLQ01YiD"
— Glenn Thibeault (@GlennThibeault) October 30, 2014
Meanwhile, the MPs are mulling the eventual fate of the parliament’s bullet-riddled doors, which, some suggest, may now have some historic value. Opponents of preserving them as they are say this might give wrong ideas to would-be copycats and that a plaque would be more appropriate.
“I’d be surprised if we didn’t find some way eventually to mark the occasion, so to speak,” said NDP leader Thomas Mulcair. “Whether we keep the physical traces, that’s a discussion that will take place among groups and I’m sure plenty of experts will have recommendations.”
The gun rampage happened in Ottawa on Wednesday last week. The shooter went to the National War Memorial, where he shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, and proceeded all the way into Parliament's Centre Block, where he was stopped and gunned down by a security detail.
