Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable MPs.
My name is Michel Monette. I go by Mitch. I'm pleased to be with you today to testify before this committee for the first time since I was appointed director of the Parliamentary Protective Service, or PPS, last November.
While I will keep my remarks brief, I do want to take a moment to highlight a few things that I bring to this position.
For 31 years, I proudly served as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. I spent 23 of these 31 years specifically in protective operations. As a result, Parliament Hill and many members of its community are already quite familiar to me.
To date, my career has given me the opportunity to live and work in many parts of the country, from the Maritimes to Canada's Far North. That said, my roots are in Timmins, Ontario, and I call myself a proud Franco-Ontarian at every opportunity.
Ever since my appointment a few months ago, I've been committed to strengthening the PPS's solid relationships with its security partners, both on and off the Hill, and to building new ones. Collaboration, communication and consultation are at the heart of everything I do as director.
Given my personal commitment to client service, my love of history and my sincere respect for those who dedicate themselves to serving our democracy, I am thrilled to contribute my protective experience to supporting the PPS's privileged mandate. Strong and efficient relationships with both our internal security partners, such as the Sergeant-at-Arms and corporate security office, and our external law enforcement partners are pivotal to me, and I nurture and value these connections immensely.
Since my arrival at the PPS, I've thrown myself into the work, spending day after day on site to take the pulse of our community as a whole, from my employees to parliamentarians to Hill employees in general. My commitment to them and to all of you is that I will continue to be present and collaborative in advancing our shared goals with respect to safety and protection. I am always here and always at your disposal because I want to establish and strengthen collaborative relationships that lead to positive outcomes for our communities.
Finally, please trust that I am honoured and privileged to serve the parliamentary community in my role as director, and that the PPS remains very grateful for your continued support.
Madam Chair and honourable MPs, this concludes my opening remarks. I will be pleased, alongside my colleague Matt Ritchie, who has been around for a long time, to answer your questions.