'Democracy prevailed,' says Terry Sheehan, Sault's Washington insider

'I commend all these lawmakers for reconvening after a forced evacuation'

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1 / 1 Sault MP Terry Sheehan at the Capitol building in WashingtonSupplied photo

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Few Saultites spend as much time on Washington's Capitol Hill as MP Terry Sheehan.

Sheehan's a member of the Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee on International Trade, and its All Party Steel Caucus.

He's often in the rooms where important trade deals come together in Washington, the same rooms shown on televised coverage of Wednesday's Capitol riot.

Sheehan is the closest thing Sault Ste. Marie has to a Washington insider.

He wasn't in Washington, but watched in horror yesterday as the Capitol was stormed by protesters.

“The scene was surreal as I watched the riot unfold yesterday," Sheehan tells SooToday.

"My heart goes out to those that were injured and died during the chaos.”

“These American lawmakers were locked down on Capitol Hill – the very spot where we worked and advocated together for our steel industry as well as looked at further opportunities for both Canadians and Americans to work together for the betterment of the people we proudly represent."

"They were allies of Sault Ste. Marie and Canada of which I had the pleasure of working with both the House of Representatives and the Senate.”

President Donald Trump was widely accused of inciting yesterday's violence and Facebook announced today that the president has been indefinitely banned from posting there and on Instagram.

The risks involved in allowing Trump to continue using those social media platforms are "simply too great," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive officer.

The ban will apply, at the very least, until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

President Trump today committed to an "orderly" transition of power.

Early this morning, the U.S. Congress confirmed Joe Biden as winner of the presidential election.

“Democracy prevailed and I commend all these lawmakers for reconvening after a forced evacuation in order to complete the counting of the Electoral College votes and congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on his presidential win,” Sheehan told SooToday.