Article in the Hill Times - Senators Unsatisfied With Senate Security's In-Camera Briefings On Hill Shooting
Abbas Rana
The Senate Protective Service provided Senators three separate briefings last week on what happened in the Oct. 22 shooting on Parliament Hill and what plans are underway to deal with future emergencies. But some Senators weren't satisfied with the briefings, saying they failed to answer the central questions such as how the gunman entered the Centre Block without an alarm going off and whether security will move to a single command and control post.
"I have to say, I'm not entirely satisfied," said former government Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton (Ontario) in an interview with The Hill Times.
The Senate Protective Service conducted separate briefings for the Conservative and Liberal Senate caucuses last week, each about 30 minutes long. A third one, about an hour long, was given to the Senate Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration Committee. All three briefings were in-camera and were conducted by Gilles Duguay, director general of the Senate Protective Service.
Senate communications staff declined to provide any details about the briefings.
Senators interviewed for this article from both sides of the aisle declined to discuss the specifics of the briefings, but confirmed that they were held and offered their feedback to The Hill Times only in broad terms. Senators and MPs said in interviews last week that they want to be cautious in their comments because they don't want to be seen criticizing security staff after the terrible shooting incident and want to give some time to the relevant security services to analyze the incident and come up with new plans on how to handle a future incident.
But some said the high level of co-operation and teamwork among all the Parliamentary Precinct security partners on the day after the shooting incident is dissipating slowly and all security services now appear to be protecting their own turf.
Security personnel from four different security agencies share the responsibility to protect the Parliamentary precinct. The RCMP is responsible for security outdoors on Parliament Hill; the House of Commons Security Services is charged with security responsibilities inside Parliament on the House of Commons side, including the central and western sections of the Centre Block; the Senate Protective Service looks after security on the east portion of the Centre Block where the Upper Chamber is located and the East Block; and the Ottawa Police is responsible for security on the streets outside the Parliamentary precinct, including Wellington Street.
Since the shooting incident, the Mounties now have the responsibility to protect Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) at all times whether he's inside Parliament or outside.
Sen. LeBreton declined to discuss specifics of the two briefings she received as a Conservative Senator and a member of the Senate Internal Economy Committee, but she said that so far no one has clearly answered the question about whether there would be just one command and control post in a future emergency.
Saskatchewan Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk told The Hill Times that he's satisfied with the security briefings in the sense that they explained what happened on Oct. 22. But he's awaiting more detailed information on what to do next and said that all these reviews are "urgent" and will be completed soon.
"We know changes have to be made and we're going to wait for the information to come forward and then we'll make a decision based on as much material information as we have before us," said Sen. Tkachuk, also a member of the Senate Internal Economy Committee.
Quebec Liberal Sen. Paul Massicotte (Lanaudière, Que.) said he's "pleased" with the Senate security briefing but would like to see an outside expert review of the Oct. 22 incident and any recommendations on how to improve Parliamentary security. An outside review is critical because in the aftermath of any incident, organizations and individuals tend to "protect" themselves rather than coming to any meaningful and unbiased conclusions, he said.
"It's natural for organizations and human beings to sort of rationalize and protect themselves and I would like somebody independent to make [that assessment]," Sen. Massicotte said in an interview.
Quebec Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette (Bedford, Que.) said she's satisfied with briefings but would like to see concrete plans on the way forward.
"It was more or less kind of a flashback of what happened and how people reacted--those who were in charge and those who were supposedly secure, that sort of thing. There was no conclusion to that, just facts," said Sen. Hervieux-Payette.
"They need coordination, some mechanism, how it should be organized. I don't think we're there yet. Who is going to really draft the future policy, how things are going to be handled, who will play what role. I think we're far from that," said Sen. Hervieux-Payette.
Since Michael Zehaf-Bibeau's shooting in Parliament on Oct. 22, a number of reviews and meetings are being held on both the House and Senate side to get a better understanding of how the incident took place and what changes should be made. A joint committee of both Chambers is also said to be holding meetings to study how co-operation and communication on security issues on both sides can be integrated. In addition, the RCMP has asked the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to conduct an independent investigation of the Oct. 22 shooting incident.
Historically, both Parliamentary Chambers have functioned and operated independently but now there's a significant push both from inside and outside of Parliament to come up with ways to improve co-operation on security issues. In 2012, Auditor General Michael Ferguson recommended "the possibility of moving toward a unified security force for the Parliamentary Precinct."
In 1992, then-auditor general Denis Desautels also recommended in a report a "clear single command structure for emergency response" for Parliament Hill security.
Last week, House Speaker Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu'Appelle, Sask.) issued a statement saying that the Board of Internal Economy has received a briefing on the updated security measures implemented after the shooting incident and has also requested a comprehensive review of the events of Oct. 22, including new measures to improve security.
MPs from all parties told The Hill Times that their caucuses did not get the briefings from the House Security Services the way Senators did. However, they said that at the House leadership levels, briefings and meetings are taking place on an ongoing basis.
There's a lot of discussion taking place. We're part of a conversation with the Speaker's office, we're part of a conversation with the Sergeant-at-Arms' office, we're part of a conversation with the Board of Internal Economy. So there're a lot of discussion points," NDP House leader Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster, Ont.) told The Hill Times.
In these meetings, Parliamentarians told The Hill Times, several wide-ranging changes are under discussion including, providing MPs' constituency offices with security in some cases.
"There's a lot of concern especially for high profile MPs. ...Say you're a high profile MP of any party and you've got a constituency office in a strip mall. You'd want to be assured that some person, some lone wolf, couldn't storm in and cause some serious harm to your staff. That's a legitimate concern frankly," said one Parliamentarian who spoke to The Hill Times on a not-for-attribution basis.
According to another proposal, there could be tighter rules of entry for visitors to Parliament Hill who may have to undergo security checks even before they enter the Parliamentary precinct. But Mr. Julian said that his party wants a balance between security and openness.
"We're asking for a broader framework of analyzing security on Parliament Hill and in the Parliamentary precinct and establishing a system that protects public security, of course, but also, very importantly, continuous public accessibility.
Canadians want an accessible Parliament. They want accessible representatives, their right in a free and a democratic society. So what we need to do is ensure that those civil liberties are maintained," said Mr. Julian.
The CBC reported last week that the RCMP officers tasked with security on the grounds of Parliament Hill and House of Commons security use different radio frequencies, which could cause communication delays in emergencies.
Senate sources said that during the briefings they were told by the Senate Security that the issue has been addressed and now both security services use the same frequency. Some Senators, however, complained that there were no details offered as to the exact nature of the issue and how has it been resolved, the source said.
The source said Senators are also awaiting responses on questions such as how an individual carrying a gun entered the Centre Block. The source said that there are several "stories circulating that people in charge were distracted" but Senators would like to know concrete facts on how it happened. They're also wondering why the Senate entrance door is always locked while the main Centre Block entrance and the west entrance door that is reserved for MPs on the House side are never locked, the source said.
"If there's any kind of positive outcome from this incident, it exposed a lot of unanswered questions," the source said.
One of the other reasons for frustration in last week's briefings was that Senators "got the sense that" they don't know "the whole story" but even after the briefings, they never got "the whole story."
"They spent too much time over what happened. We know what happened. I almost got the sense they were saying, 'You don't know the whole story.' Then tell us the whole story,'" the source said.
The Hill Times