NEW: Wellington Street ‘extremely porous’ eight months after closing to vehicles, PPS head says ottnews
A 500-metre stretch of Wellington Street, which fronts Parliament Hill, remains closed after February’s truck convoy occupation. Ottawa, Ont.. May 31, 2022. .
Parliamentary Protective Service acting Chief Supt. Larry Brookson and Ottawa police acting Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson appeared before a House of Commons committee looking into expanding federal jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Precinct to include sections of Wellington Street and Sparks Street. "The service is responsible for 30 some buildings which house some of the most important people that we have in this country and steering us in the right direction, the suggestion that Wellington comes right down the heart of it unabated is a concern to a service that I'm responsible for.
"We are very much in a place of lacking resources and our members are stressed and stressed; however, we continue to police the city of Ottawa and the wide expanse of geography that we have and we do that to the best of our resources," Ferguson told MPs. In June, Ottawa City Manager Steve Kanellakos told the committee the city has been holding "investigative discussions" with the federal government on potentially transferring ownership of Wellington Street to federal jurisdiction. Former Ottawa police Chief Vern White called for Wellington Street to be closed to vehicles permanently, warning there is a "high risk for a catastrophic event.
"The service, which I'm responsible for in delivering this mandate, will reach out to the Ottawa Police Service and we'll come up with something," Brookson said.