High level security maintained in public buildings one week after deadly attacks

QUEBEC CITY – Gone are the days when you could just waltz into city hall unannounced.

The doors are now locked; delivery staff has to be beeped in.

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For Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume, beefing up security is necessary to ensure public officials are safe.

“We’re living in some kind of crazy days so it has to be done,” the mayor said.

Politicians were shaken to the core last week when two allegedly radicalized Muslim Quebecers murdered two soldiers.

One soldier, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was shot as he guarded the war memorial outside Parliament in Ottawa.

READ MORE: Montreal Muslim women organize vigil for killed Canadian soldiers

The other, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, was intentionally run down by a car in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

As the incidents unfolded, Quebec’s provincial police quickly made its way to the Quebec National Assembly.

Now, visitors are screened and tunnels leading to the main building are closed off.

READ MORE: No armed guards at Ottawa War Memorial, Cpl. Cirillo’s commander says

“We spoke with the President of the National Assembly and you saw all the security measures are like last week and we evaluate each week what level of security we need,” said Lise Thériault, Quebec’s Public Security Minister.

This could become the new norm, at least for a while.

Quebec City and Montreal police received news this week they could be targeted by Islamic State militants.

The RCMP is asking them to be extra vigilant.

READ MORE: Fallen soldiers Patrice Vincent and Nathan Cirillo honoured in Quebec

“We repeated to our troops Monday to be vigilant because of the events of last week,” confirmed François Moisan, Quebec City Police Communications Director.

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Federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel, who was in Parliament during lockdown in Ottawa last week, is asking Quebecers to pay extra attention to people showing signs of radicalization.

“We don’t want to overreact and we don’t want to underreact,” he said.

“If you see somebody changing his habits, you have doubts these people can be dangerous for you and the population, please do what you have to do and call policemen or people in charge to take care of that.”

Lebel said Canada will be safer for it.