This episode was based on a real life event that occurred in Toronto on August 25, 2004. On that day, after a man attempted to murder his estranged wife in an underground mall, he then took a hostage at gun point outside Union Station at the height of rush hour. Similar to the events in this episode, the man pointed his gun several times at the Emergency Task Force hostage negotiator who finally gave the order to another ETF agent who took the kill shot. The event was captured on national TV.
The fictional Strategic Response Unit (SRU) on this show is based on Toronto's Emergency Task Force (ETF) Unit. The ETF, like the SRU, is a SWAT Team whose first goal is to talk down a situation before using tactical or lethal options.
The main cast and the creators were credited a few minutes after the regular opening credits (guest star, writers, director etc.)