Kevin Vickers is the Canadian Parliament’s sergeant-at-arms, and he was the hero of yesterday’s attempt at a 9/11-style jihadist attack in that country.

After a deranged savage Muslim named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed the guard at Canada’s War Memorial and then stormed the Parliament building, Vickers calmly turned out his lights with a pistol shot before he could do any more damage.

That was yesterday. Today, Canada’s parliament was back in session – and it was time for Vickers to be recognized for saving a great number of lives…

The best part of that applause was the palpable defiance which permeated it. Defiance of Islamic savagery – and how much of it can be mustered – will be the defining factor in how the 21st century plays out.