Evidence of meeting #22 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A video is available from Parliament.
North Island—Powell River, NDP
Thank you.
Through you, Madam Chair, could I ask what the impact will be on the PPS, then, specifically if the precinct grows?
D/Commr Michael Duheme
Madam Chair, I'm just speculating, but if it grows, obviously, additional resources may be required if the mandate remains the same.
There is a coordination right now with OPS and RCMP, so it's to determine whether there's an additional role that PPS can take on if we decide to extend the precinct. I will leave that to the review committee.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bardish Chagger
Excellent.
Ms. Blaney, would you like another minute right now, and then I can just not give it in the second round? Do you want to continue with your line of questioning?
North Island—Powell River, NDP
Sure. My last question has to do with the expansion of the streets and what that would include. With that inclusion, I guess.... I don't know.
No, I don't have a question. It's for PPS and I don't think that they're here, so I'll just leave it at that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bardish Chagger
Excellent. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Now, because time is limited, I am going to entertain a very tight second round, and it will preferably be four to five minutes for Mr. Vis, followed by four to five minutes for Mr. Turnbull and one minute for Madame Gaudreau.
Ms. Blaney, I'll come back to you should you have a quick question.
Mr. Vis.
Brad Vis Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses here today.
Through you, Madam Chair, Mr. Bell outlined in his exchange with Mr. Scheer that the people of Ottawa were terrorized. Can he please define what he meant by “terrorized” and whether anyone was charged with an act of terrorism under Canada's Criminal Code during, before or after the Emergencies Act?
Interim Chief, Ottawa Police Service
Thank you, Madam Chair. I can absolutely clarify that.
There were no acts of terrorism. There were no charges laid around any of those acts. What I can say is that during the convoy, during the occupation, we received 2,200 calls for service, which resulted in 280 arrests from 410 different Criminal Code investigations, with 118 people charged and 466 criminal charges laid that continue to go through the court.
What those identified was—
Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC
I'm sorry, Mr. Bell, but I have a very short time for questioning. That was a comprehensive answer.
My second question, Madam Chair, through you, is for Deputy Commissioner Duheme.
At last week's declaration of emergency committee, my colleague Larry Brock didn't have time to finish a line of questioning about the RCMP's technical capacity to conduct non-invasive detection of explosive materials.
I won't ask about the specifics of those techniques, but I do want to know if it is true that, for at least the first two weeks of the convoy protest, the RCMP denied or ignored requests from the Ottawa Police Service or the Parliamentary Protective Service to provide or lend its technical capacity?
D/Commr Michael Duheme
Madam Chair, I am unaware of any requests that we did not respond to.
Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC
Okay.
Through you, Madam Chair, to the deputy commissioner, do you deny absolutely that the Ottawa Police Service or the Parliamentary Protective Service made any such requests?
Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC
Madam Chair, through you, to Chief Bell, do you agree with the deputy commissioner's statement?
Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC
Through you, Madam Chair, to Chief Beaudoin, were the Gatineau police capable of handling whatever spillover events occurred on your side of the Ottawa River during the convoy protests?
Director, Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau
Madam Chair, thanks to the collaboration of our partners and the coordination centre on the Gatineau side, we were able to plan and act accordingly.
Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC
Thank you.
Through you, Madam Chair, some of our Liberal colleagues have proposed, as we've been discussing, expanding federal security jurisdiction into downtown Ottawa. Given the previous answer from the chief of police from Gatineau, would having more federal entities exercising greater on-the-ground policing or security authority in the city of Gatineau help or hinder Gatineau's police service to do its job?
Director, Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau
Madam Chair, again, whether or not we extend federal jurisdiction over the operational security of the parliamentary precinct, it will require coordination between the various partners. That will be key to making this a success.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bardish Chagger
Mr. Vis, I always enjoy you. Thank you so much for your concise questions and for not interrupting too much. Thank you.
Go ahead, Mr. Turnbull.
Liberal
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Thank you to everyone for being here today. It's an important conversation. I appreciate your leadership and hard work.
I want to ask a very simple question, and I think I'll start with you, Mr. Bell. I think you answered this in your opening remarks, but I want to get it on the record one more time.
Would you say that having optimum clarity of role and jurisdictional responsibility improves crisis management in an emergency situation like the occupation of our downtown?
Interim Chief, Ottawa Police Service
Madam Chair, I can absolutely say that is the case and what led to success.
Liberal
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Thank you very much.
Chief Bell, maybe I'll also ask you this. In terms of MPs' security and safety and their staff who work on the Hill, how many incidents were you aware of where MPs or their staff were either harassed or threatened in any way by the occupation?
Interim Chief, Ottawa Police Service
Madam Chair, I don't have that information at my fingertips. I'm unaware, but I believe that may be better directed to Mr. Duheme, who would be responsible for the initial response to those incidents.