Procedure and House Affairs Committee on May 16th, 2023

[Patrick McDonell]

There's a protocol in place now, under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, to advise my office who is being targeted by a foreign government. However, CSIS is the lead agency.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Thank you for that.

When CSIS advises your office pursuant to the protocol, what do you do with that information?

[Patrick McDonell]

That information is.... A file is generated, and then we will undertake the appropriate investigative measures and techniques to monitor the safety and security of the said member.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

As far as informing the said member, for clarification, pursuant to the protocol it would not be your office or the Speaker's office that would undertake that. Am I understanding that correctly?

[Patrick McDonell]

Through you, Madam Chair, that is correct.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Would it be left to the discretion of CSIS, based upon their determination of whoever would be appropriate?

[Patrick McDonell]

I can't answer that for CSIS. That would be speculation on my part.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Thank you for that.

I will reserve the balance of my time for Mr. Berthold.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bardish Chagger]

You have 27 seconds.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Okay. There is very little—

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

I'd like to take this opportunity to ask for clarification.

Can you give us an update on the progress of work on Centre Block? Do you have a specific timeline?

Could you provide that to the committee?

[Michel Patrice]

Yes, we'll get back to you on the timeline we have. At the moment, I can tell you that the work is progressing very well.

Thank you.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bardish Chagger]

That's very good.

Ms. Romanado, you have the floor.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Through you, I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today.

I'm going to focus on three areas, and again, whichever witness is most appropriate to respond, I will leave to you to decide.

We talked a little bit about MP security, and since I was elected in 2015, we have seen a lot of advancement in terms of our physical safety, whether it be the panic buttons we have been provided or our residence and constituency office security systems.

I have been talking a little bit about this, and I haven't received any updates and/or movement on it. The House is in session, and right now it's what we call the “silly season” and we're sitting until midnight often. What happens is that the House will adjourn at midnight, and you have a group of MPs walking in downtown Ottawa at 12:30 at night.

I asked, I remember, in a previous meeting to see if it was possible for the shuttle bus to do a loop to some of the local hotels. We work it out among ourselves to walk home together so that we're not walking alone. It's great that I have my panic button, but it's basically just going to record somebody attacking me.

Is there a possibility of looking into the shuttle service? I know that with the Senate building being a little farther away, we do pass in front of hotels. Is this something that could be put in place for those who feel they need it?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

It's a very good suggestion, and it's something that would be very feasible. Can we look into it? We'll get back to you or get back to the committee with some form of recommendation on that.

As you say, the late nights are of concern, and the last thing we want is someone being alone out on the streets when a bus could easily solve that. They are making a loop anyway. Expanding it by an extra few minutes is not going to break the bank.

Very good, thank you. We'll get back to you on that.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Thank you.

I do want to follow up on another issue, and, again, it might sound bizarre. When you were last here in April 2022, I brought this up, and I'm glad we have Mr. Brookson, the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Speaker here in front of me. I'm sure you know where I'm going to go with this.

When we were in Centre Block, the two entrances for the Senate and for the House of Commons had an overhang so that the Parliamentary Protective Service who were outside waiting for the MPs and the Senators to come in were covered from the elements. Right now the West Block entrance that comes off Wellington has no cover over it, so our PPS officers are exposed to the elements. They are standing out in freezing cold, and I've witnessed a chunk of ice fall from West Block and almost hit an agent.

Had it been one of us, I'm sure something would get put in there, but I would be remiss to not ask. I understand there might be a line of sight issue. Is there not a way that we can have some sort of overhang, canopy or protective structure put in place temporarily while we're in West Block to protect the agents who are here to protect us?

I would be most remiss if I did not ask again about putting something in place.

[Larry Brookson]

Through you, Madam Chair, I very much appreciate the concern and the question. The service does everything that it can.

Currently what we're looking at is a posture review for the service across the board. It's more than just adequate coverage from the elements. Our human assets are our number one priority, particularly with the role they play. More often it's a conversation as to where we place those assets rather than where they currently reside, particularly since we've fused completely together from the east, the west and the exterior operation, where some of these positions or exterior lines of sight can be covered by the exterior operation most often.

I'm committed to coming back to both administrations on that review, hopefully in early fall.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Thank you.

If I have time, quickly, to the Speaker, with redistribution they'll be adding five new members of Parliament next time around. Have we started looking at the space that is going to be required for those additional MPs?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

That's something we constantly monitor in looking at different options. It is very important that everyone have adequate space to do their jobs. I have no concerns that we'll be short. We'll be fine as far as the five new members go.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bardish Chagger]

Thank you.

We will now have a two-minute round.

We'll start with Ms. Gaudreau, followed by Ms. Blaney, Mr. Cooper and then Ms. Sahota.

Ms. Gaudreau, the floor is yours.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Since I don't have much time, I want to say that the opening remarks were very detailed, so I don't have any specific questions.

However, I would like each of you to share with us the biggest lessons you've learned from the 2022-23 fiscal year. It would also help reassure people about the good work done by the House of Commons and the Parliamentary Protective Service.

You're doing a good job.

Who wants to go first to give us their biggest lesson this year?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

I'll start.

Since I started working at the House of Commons in 2019, I've been very impressed by the people who work there, whether in information technology or security services. All employees are prepared to do what it takes to ensure that the House runs smoothly and that MPs are able to serve their constituents.

Every day, I'm surprised to see these people at work, ready to give their all and more. The human resources that serve the House of Commons are fantastic. The staff impress me every day.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

From a security perspective, what are the key lessons learned?

[Patrick McDonell]

Madam Chair, I think we can always do better than what we are doing today. We always have to find ways to improve things in terms of safety and security.