I would say that this is part of the responsibilities of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and Institutional Security, as well as ours at the Parliamentary Protective Service.
I can discuss the security environment and then the efforts being made in general, given that we are testifying in a public hearing today.
It is clear that in our budget, particularly the most recent one, there has been an increase in funding for programs that specifically contribute to the safety of each member of Parliament on the Hill itself. We have added programs to ensure that our parliamentarians feel safe when arriving in the Parliament Hill area. We have created a program called Walk Safe, which is an escort program, to ensure that every parliamentarian approaching Parliament Hill feels completely safe.
We have also significantly increased our staffing for member training. I am pleased to announce that we recently received the keys to our new PPS training centre, for which we held a grand opening recently. This will increase our capacity to effectively train our staff and create scenarios that will allow our members to familiarize themselves with our duties.
We have also been developing an extremely robust exercise program over the past few years, in which we conduct exercises that simulate situations we might face on Parliament Hill. We are working with our partners both inside and outside the Parliament to create interoperability that will allow us to support one another in the event of an incident on the Hill.
I will now turn the floor over to Mr. Dicaire so he can tell you about what the Office of the Sergeant‑at‑Arms can do.