Last year’s federal budget quietly set aside $50 million, over five years, to bolster Parliamentary security. The primary catalyst for the funding? The 2022 Freedom Convoy. 

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty announced on Friday that federal funds to support Ottawa police patrolling the Parliament Hill area have already begun to be distributed, reported the Ottawa Citizen.

The MP for Ottawa South was met with praise from his Ottawa-Centre counterpart, Yasir Naqvi, who admonished convoy protesters as inherently violent.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat it, but I think you all remember how challenging and difficult a period it was during the almost month-long occupation of downtown Ottawa,” he told reporters on Friday. 

According to pollster Angus Reid, over half (51%) of Canadians perceived the convoy as a national security threat despite no evidence of violence by protesters. 

A prior government report claimed there were also “anti-Semitic” and “racist” symbols at the protests. Instead, residents complained of honking and truck fumes. 

“My community has not forgotten that,” he said. “We’re investing in our downtown core in the parliamentary district so that we don’t live through that ever again.”

A new Parliament district policing team, comprised of 49 civilian and sworn employees, has been launched in Ottawa and will be fully staffed within the next three years, according to police Chief Eric Stubbs.

The funding will ensure “real-time responses to any emergencies,” McGuinty said. 

HAPPENING NOW! Freedom Convoy protesters on Parliament Hill rally for the 2nd anniversary of the now ruled illegally invoked Emergencies Act by the Trudeau Liberals.

Rebel's @guillaum3roy and @rkraychik are on the ground for live updates.https://t.co/vD78U4ZuZQ pic.twitter.com/zFUDmhwVzc

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 17, 2024

This detachment will take over policing responsibilities from the Parliamentary Protective Service beyond Parliament Hill, specifically on Wellington Street, which has seen an increase in protests. It will also focus efforts on the area from Lyon Street in the west to Elgin Street in the east, and Queen Street in the south. 

A full-time police liaison team will also be funded to communicate with community stakeholders in the area.

“Canada’s parliament has always been open, accessible and welcoming to Canadians and visitors alike,” McGuinty said. “We need to keep it that way.”

Chief Stubbs stated that the announcement clarifies the jurisdictional boundaries between the Ottawa police, Parliamentary Protection Service, and the RCMP, and ensures that their mandates are aligned.

The funding is intended for peacekeeping purposes only, not for defence, McGuinty emphasized. “We want to make sure that the Parliament Buildings and Parliament Hill aren't turned into some sort of fortress,” he clarified. 

“We need to jealously safeguard and secure the right to protest and the right to visit and the right to be there, that’s a fundamental element of our democracy.”

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