Hailed for his heroic actions during the attack on Parliament Hill in 2014, Canadian ambassador Kevin Vickers jumped into the fray again this week when he tackled an Irish republican protester at a ceremony in a Dublin cemetery.
Video showed Vickers, the former House of Commons sergeant-at-arms, grappling with a protester on Thursday before Dublin police could intervene. Many people lauded Vickers but others questioned whether it was appropriate for a diplomat to physically grab a protester.
Experts in the field of international relations say Vickers actions were both unprecedented and not part of the role of a Canadian ambassador.
“It’s unusual behaviour for an ambassador, and I’m sure some comments will be made to him by the deputy minister about it,” said John English, director of The Bill Graham Centre at the University of Toronto.
READ MORE: Irish protester tackled by Kevin Vickers holds no grudge
A spokesperson for Global Affairs confirmed that Vickers was uninjured during the incident and that he would not be available for an interview.
The department said Vickers was a guest of Ireland’s foreign affairs minister at a ceremony to remember British soldiers killed in the 1916 Easter Rising, which claimed 485 lives, including more than 100 British soldiers.
Gar Pardy, the former head of Canada’s consular services, said it is not the role of an ambassador to enforce the law in another country.
“Your job is to represent Canada, not to enforce the laws of Ireland,” Pardy told Global News. “Whether that man should be there shouting that is something for the Irish government to take care of.”
READ MORE: Kevin Vickers tackles protester at Ireland remembrance ceremony
Global Affairs’ code of conduct for diplomatic staff abroad also advises that representatives should be aware that any “adverse perception of their actions may have an effect on Canada’s reputation.”
Meanwhile, Brian Murphy, the Irish republican protester who shouted “this is an insult!” during the event, said he wasn’t a threat.
“Maybe he had a different perception of what was happening or what my intentions were,” Murphy, 46, told The Canadian Press. “I was making a point and I knew what the outcome would be — that I’d be taken away.”
However, the advocacy group which Murphy is a member of demanded an apology from the Canadian government and called for the “immediate removal” of Vickers as Canada’s ambassador to Ireland.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was attending the G7 summit in Japan, said he had not been fully briefed on the incident.
“If it lands on my table I’ll take a look at it but for now I have no comment,” Trudeau told reporters.
Vickers, who served almost 30 years as an RCMP officer, was among those who responded to the Oct. 22, 2014, when Michael Zehaf Bibeau killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Monument before storming Centre Block on Parliament Hill. Bibeau was killed in a hail of gunfire including shots fired by Vickers from close range.
Vickers received an standing ovation during an emotional ceremony when the House of Commons resumed business the following day for his actions and was appointed as ambassador to Ireland in January, 2015.
*With files from Jacques Bourbeau and The Canadian Press
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