For Canadians, CNN is the Most Trusted Name in News

07/25/2018

As soon as Hussain's name was made public, a professionally written statement was released to CBC from the shooter's family about how he suffered from psychosis and depression and how they were unsuccessful in obtaining treatment for him. Immediately, most of the Canadian media focused on poor Faisal and his mental health problems. He became the true victim of his actions while the 18-year-old who had just graduated from high school and planned a career in nursing and the 10-year-old girl who lay dying in hospital were shunted into the background.

There were exceptions in the Canadian media to the Hussain-as-victim narrative but they were few and far between. Joe Warmington wrote in the Toronto Sun Hussain had travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan recently and was known by the Toronto Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP and CSIS. (Toronto Sun, July 24) The Toronto Sun also published an article about how many of Hussain's neighbours in the heavily Muslim populated high rise apartment complex where he lived never saw any signs of mental illness. (Toronto Sun, July 24)