Hon. Vernon White: Honourable Senators, I want to speak to you about the encampment that has been set up in front of our Parliament.

The expectation of demonstrations and protests in the nation’s capital are not lost on me. In my former role, we had hundreds of demonstrations and protests, some that parked themselves for days and weeks, others that were mobile through our streets. The focus on peacefulness was paramount, and the maintaining of peace was always the goal.

I do not want to give the current encampment on Wellington Street more notoriety than they have already, so I will not speak specifically to their actions or even the ability or capability of the officials to act.

I want to speak to an issue that has been raised from a security perspective for more than a decade and state that it is time for us to finally act to improve security on Wellington Street.

I speak on the issue of converting Wellington Street to pedestrians only. There have been many clear discussions on Parliament Hill security over the past few decades. In 1989 an individual armed with a handgun was able to hijack and then drive a bus onto Parliament Hill. After the attacks in New York on 9/11, there were changes brought about to better secure Parliament Hill and better guarantee a safe and secure seat of government.

Following the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014, for which many of you were present, discussions intensified, bringing forward legislative change, a new Parliamentary Protective Service and new security measures, tools and requirements.

One area that has been raised throughout these security review times has been the security of Wellington Street in front of Parliament. It has been raised that the risk of having vehicle traffic on this portion of Wellington Street was extremely high. Reports have been developed and presented regarding what would, and possibly could, happen should someone choose to take extreme action in this area.

We watch closely what is happening in Ottawa today, and again I raise the issue of protecting Parliament. I am asking that the Government of Canada and the City of Ottawa take the necessary action to expand the parliamentary precinct: that they secure the area of Wellington Street to the east at Elgin Street, to the west at Lyon Street and south as far as Queen Street.

While adding this area to the precinct, I would argue that we as well make this an area for pedestrian traffic only, removing all vehicular traffic. This would provide Parliament with a buffer from traffic, thus protecting this area from risk but as well protect other buildings that house parliamentarians, staff and the Office of the Prime Minister. I hope this current situation brings forward a fruitful discussion that allows for a better level of protection for the seat of our federal government.

In closing, I believe that working together, the city and federal governments could make these changes quickly and ask that both make this a priority.

Thank you.

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