Thank you, Mr. Chair.

With me today is Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana, who heads our federal policing business line, and Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud, who is the commanding officer of national division, which has the oversight and responsibility for a number of things, including security on Parliament Hill.

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the RCMP's role in ensuring the safety and security of the parliamentary precinct and the related issue of parliamentary privilege. Without reservation, I can tell you that members of the RCMP employed in the security and safety of the parliamentary precinct understand and respect parliamentary privilege.

The RCMP has a number of measures in place to ensure that members permanently posted to Parliament Hill, as well as short-term postings, including our reservists, are provided with the necessary information on parliamentary privilege. We reinforce this message on an ongoing basis.

Let me begin this morning by providing the committee with a general overview of the RCMP's role on Parliament Hill and how we work with our security partners: the House of Commons security services, the Senate protective services, and the Ottawa Police Service. The focus of our collective security operations is deterrence, detection, and response. Ensuring the safety of the parliamentary precinct is a shared responsibility. The RCMP is responsible for securing the grounds of Parliament Hill as well as the security of the Prime Minister and visiting dignitaries while outside the buildings.

There are some unique security challenges here. The grounds measure over 950,000 square feet and are home to over 400 parliamentarians, 4,000 staff, and 1.5 million visitors annually. Parliament Hill is also a preferred site for small protests and large-scale demonstrations, making its physical structure and occupants vulnerable to threats. On average there are approximately 300 demonstrations or special events per year. RCMP officers respond to anywhere between 450 and 500 occurrences annually.

The RCMP is faced with competing security priorities, as evidenced by the events of September 25 and 26, to which I will turn in a moment. On any given day, RCMP members are responsible for screening vehicles at the vehicle screening facility, monitoring access points, responding to calls for service, patrolling the extensive grounds, and managing visits by high-ranking foreign dignitaries. Permit me to stress here, though, that we don't arrange these visits, we simply secure them.

The RCMP must be responsive to the threat and risk environment, with the ultimate objective, in collaboration with our partners, of ensuring the safety and security of parliamentarians, staff, and the general public. However, we also understand and appreciate that our actions must be carried out in a fashion that does not obstruct parliamentary business and is respectful of the privilege.

We make and take every measure possible to ensure that our security operations do not impede parliamentarians. But frankly speaking, it's not reasonable to expect that with all of the activities going on on the Hill there won't be the odd inconvenient delay: construction, crowds, traffic control devices such as stop signs, and, yes, the occasional visiting head of state in a motorcade. So in the rare instance where purely unimpeded access to the Hill is not possible, we make every effort to ensure that any delays are as short as possible.

In 2012 an RCMP colleague appeared before this committee on the same issue. Based on the issues that were brought forward to the RCMP's attention then, we implemented a number of measures, including distribution of two booklets to all RCMP members posted on Parliament Hill, which include photos of members of Parliament and the Senate; ensuring that newly assigned members to Parliament Hill are thoroughly briefed on parliamentary privilege and parliamentarians' right of unimpeded access to the precinct, and members are regularly reminded of the importance of these issues; facilitating the rapid identification and access of parliamentarians through security checkpoints; requiring operational planning and briefings for major events and demonstrations to reaffirm that once parliamentarians have been granted access through security checkpoints they have unimpeded access to the parliamentary buildings; and ensuring the prompt dismantling of security perimeters established for major events and demonstrations at the conclusion of each special event or visit.

These measures are in addition to the work between the RCMP, the House of Commons security services, and Senate security through the master security planning office and the development of the “Parliamentary Precinct Master Security Plan”. This document, developed in 2009, guides the long-term direction of security needs for the precinct.

Despite our best efforts, unfortunately, parliamentarians have experienced delays in accessing Parliament Hill.

As you are aware, on September 25 and 26 respectively, the member of Parliament for Acadie—Bathurst—who, I see, is here today—and the Speaker of the House were delayed in accessing the grounds due to security measures related to the motorcades for the President of Germany. These delays, short as they were, arose from the execution of our duty to facilitate the safe movement of fast-moving vehicles and pedestrians.

In short, we must ensure the safety of all people in the vicinity, and these delays were not intentionally aimed at preventing members of Parliament from accessing the Hill in an unfettered manner. We, I, take these incidents very seriously, so I asked my officials to gather all the relevant information so that I could inform myself, and ultimately, inform our way forward. I would like to share with you what happened.

The incident involving the member of Parliament for Acadie—Bathurst took place on Bank Street north at Wellington Street. As part of the security measures for motorcades arriving on the Hill, members of the RCMP and Ottawa Police Service are required to block off access to streets. Due to these security measures, the parliamentary bus was prevented from accessing the Hill, and members of Parliament decided to gain access on foot. Given that the motorcade was arriving at the pre-selected gate, the officers' duties were to keep the street clear to allow continued movement of the motorcade. This helps ensure the safety and security of the visiting dignitary as well as the safety of pedestrians. Once the motorcade had passed, as per our standard operating procedures the officers promptly stood down, and the member of Parliament for Acadie—Bathurst was escorted across the street. The situation unfolded and was resolved in approximately 70 seconds.

With your permission, Mr. Chair, I'd like to play the video of this incident, and then I can use some still photographs to see the key moments of this event.

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