Mr. Speaker, I will try to be very brief.
I did want to put a few points on the record for your consideration of the privilege question, particularly from a public safety standpoint. As you know, I am the official shadow minister for public safety, and the RCMP falls under my portfolio. I am accountable to hold the government accountable.
My concerns are regarding the protective policing program. I just want to put a few words on the record from the government's own documents: “The RCMP Protective Policing Program (PPP) is facing significant challenges meeting increased demand for their services, putting unsustainable pressure on the PPP program.” It also says, “Security and protection are of increasing concern due to a significant increase in the number of threats against public figures”.
I did feel responsible to ensure that the public safety aspect of this is put on the record, because we do not know who the individuals are. We do know who the NDP members are who were supporting them, but we do not know who the other members are. We walked to our offices and had individuals blocking our way. We do not know who they are, but their purpose was to block us from going into our offices. If we allow it to transpire that there could be sit-ins in our offices, I do believe it would raise considerable safety concerns.
In particular, given the concerns raised by the government's own document, there is a reason we have the protective policing program in the first place. I cannot use props, but MPs are able to carry panic buttons for a reason—