D_Accord
Legacy Member
[SUP]http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/mounties-now-carry-submachine-guns-on-parliament-hill-and-not-everyone-is-happy-about-it[/SUP]
RCMP officers have started openly carrying submachine guns on Parliament Hill as part of a visible increase to Parliament Hill security following last October’s terrorist attack.
The firearms’ appearance on Parliament Hill has prompted mixed reactions from parliamentarians, including some who say they are upset and feel less safe than before.
“I’m afraid. I feel uncomfortable,” said Senate Liberal Céline Hervieux-Payette, who has complained to the House of Commons and Senate Speakers’ offices. “I hate to see someone with a machinegun.”
Wayne Cuddington / Postmedia News“The enhanced security measures are in place to ensure the safety of everyone on Parliament Hill, including parliamentarians, employees and visitors,” said RCMP spokeswoman Angela White..
The RCMP has had MP-5 submachine guns available for security outside the Parliament buildings for years. But the police force would not say when or why officers began carrying the weapons in public while standing guard near the Peace Tower. It also wouldn’t say who made the decision.
“Since the Oct. 22, 2014, incident, security measures have been enhanced to reflect the current environment,” said RCMP spokeswoman Angela White. “The enhanced security measures are in place to ensure the safety of everyone on Parliament Hill, including parliamentarians, employees and visitors.”
The Ontario Provincial Police released a report Wednesday on the RCMP’s preparedness prior to Oct. 22. One section said Mounties on guard “need access to a long gun that has a multi-purpose capability.” It said “trained officers have access to an MP-5,” but a number of related recommendations are blacked out.
While they weren’t asked specifically about the submachine gun, several Conservative MPs said Wednesday that they were happy with the visibly beefed-up security on the Hill.
“I was uncomfortable before,” Conservative MP and government whip John Duncan said. “We had so few people that were actually armed and very little visible presence of it. And now it’s so noticeable. Any member of the public, any individual visiting the Hill, I think, feels they’re in a place with a high standard of care for their safety.”
I just think the message it sends to tourists, to schoolchildren, to citizens, to foreigners, is one of an armed encampment as opposed to a house of democracy
.
But Hervieux-Payette said she had also been uncomfortable with the large number of pistols given out to security personnel inside and outside the Parliament Buildings since Oct. 22, even before the sudden appearance of a submachine gun several weeks ago.
The senator wrote to Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer and Senate counterpart Leo Housakos last Friday, saying “security that relies on firepower has proven to be ineffective, and millions of Americans have paid the price for this false assumption with their lives.”
Officials in Scheer’s office and the Senate referred questions back to the RCMP. Housakos was not immediately available for comment, his office said.
Green party leader Elizabeth May said she had also complained to Scheer that she found the gun “offensive.”
“I believe the security measures need to be tightened up,” she said. “I just think the message it sends to tourists, to schoolchildren, to citizens, to foreigners, is one of an armed encampment as opposed to a house of democracy.”
Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger said some of his colleagues had also expressed misgivings about the submachine guns, and that it should be up to parliamentarians, through the Speakers’ offices, to decide appropriate security measures. He said he was troubled the Speakers had referred the issue back to the RCMP.
The government just came in and said this is how it’s going to be, without consultation
.
Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar said there has been a lack of dialogue between all parties when it comes to security on the Hill, starting with the Conservative government’s decision to create a new security force for Parliament that will be directed by an RCMP member.
“The government just came in and said this is how it’s going to be, without consultation,” Dewar said. “We need to have our eyes wide open and have a sober discussion about the best way to provide security for everyone. Not just us, but for all Canadians.”
But Conservative MP John Williamson believed the presence of a submachine gun as well as more armed RCMP officers and security personnel was “appropriate.”
“What I thought was important was this place remains open to the public,” he said. “And the trade-off is the visibility of security forces would be enhanced as both a visible and a real deterrent.”
=======================================================================================================
TL;DR - well they now got MP5s but not everybody`s happy
Senator Celine Hervieux Payette's letter to the Speaker of the House
http://www.blazingcatfur.ca/wp-cont...tte-leaked-email-Parliament-Hill-Security.jpg
RCMP officers have started openly carrying submachine guns on Parliament Hill as part of a visible increase to Parliament Hill security following last October’s terrorist attack.
The firearms’ appearance on Parliament Hill has prompted mixed reactions from parliamentarians, including some who say they are upset and feel less safe than before.
“I’m afraid. I feel uncomfortable,” said Senate Liberal Céline Hervieux-Payette, who has complained to the House of Commons and Senate Speakers’ offices. “I hate to see someone with a machinegun.”
Wayne Cuddington / Postmedia News“The enhanced security measures are in place to ensure the safety of everyone on Parliament Hill, including parliamentarians, employees and visitors,” said RCMP spokeswoman Angela White..
The RCMP has had MP-5 submachine guns available for security outside the Parliament buildings for years. But the police force would not say when or why officers began carrying the weapons in public while standing guard near the Peace Tower. It also wouldn’t say who made the decision.
“Since the Oct. 22, 2014, incident, security measures have been enhanced to reflect the current environment,” said RCMP spokeswoman Angela White. “The enhanced security measures are in place to ensure the safety of everyone on Parliament Hill, including parliamentarians, employees and visitors.”
The Ontario Provincial Police released a report Wednesday on the RCMP’s preparedness prior to Oct. 22. One section said Mounties on guard “need access to a long gun that has a multi-purpose capability.” It said “trained officers have access to an MP-5,” but a number of related recommendations are blacked out.
While they weren’t asked specifically about the submachine gun, several Conservative MPs said Wednesday that they were happy with the visibly beefed-up security on the Hill.
“I was uncomfortable before,” Conservative MP and government whip John Duncan said. “We had so few people that were actually armed and very little visible presence of it. And now it’s so noticeable. Any member of the public, any individual visiting the Hill, I think, feels they’re in a place with a high standard of care for their safety.”
I just think the message it sends to tourists, to schoolchildren, to citizens, to foreigners, is one of an armed encampment as opposed to a house of democracy
.
But Hervieux-Payette said she had also been uncomfortable with the large number of pistols given out to security personnel inside and outside the Parliament Buildings since Oct. 22, even before the sudden appearance of a submachine gun several weeks ago.
The senator wrote to Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer and Senate counterpart Leo Housakos last Friday, saying “security that relies on firepower has proven to be ineffective, and millions of Americans have paid the price for this false assumption with their lives.”
Officials in Scheer’s office and the Senate referred questions back to the RCMP. Housakos was not immediately available for comment, his office said.
Green party leader Elizabeth May said she had also complained to Scheer that she found the gun “offensive.”
“I believe the security measures need to be tightened up,” she said. “I just think the message it sends to tourists, to schoolchildren, to citizens, to foreigners, is one of an armed encampment as opposed to a house of democracy.”
Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger said some of his colleagues had also expressed misgivings about the submachine guns, and that it should be up to parliamentarians, through the Speakers’ offices, to decide appropriate security measures. He said he was troubled the Speakers had referred the issue back to the RCMP.
The government just came in and said this is how it’s going to be, without consultation
.
Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar said there has been a lack of dialogue between all parties when it comes to security on the Hill, starting with the Conservative government’s decision to create a new security force for Parliament that will be directed by an RCMP member.
“The government just came in and said this is how it’s going to be, without consultation,” Dewar said. “We need to have our eyes wide open and have a sober discussion about the best way to provide security for everyone. Not just us, but for all Canadians.”
But Conservative MP John Williamson believed the presence of a submachine gun as well as more armed RCMP officers and security personnel was “appropriate.”
“What I thought was important was this place remains open to the public,” he said. “And the trade-off is the visibility of security forces would be enhanced as both a visible and a real deterrent.”
=======================================================================================================
TL;DR - well they now got MP5s but not everybody`s happy
Senator Celine Hervieux Payette's letter to the Speaker of the House
http://www.blazingcatfur.ca/wp-cont...tte-leaked-email-Parliament-Hill-Security.jpg
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