RCMP Watch

GLORIA GALLOWAY - Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — Jurisdictional conflicts and lack of political direction leave Parliament Hill an easy mark for terrorists, says one of Canada’s leading security analysts.

Security on Parliament Hill is a story “of overlapping jurisdictions, mismatched skill sets and political interference where it is not needed,” said Tom Quiggin, who has worked as an intelligence analyst for a number of domestic and international agencies including the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“The jihadists, both those directed or inspired by the message of al-Qaeda, have shown a willingness to attack targets that are either highly symbolic or ’soft targets’ that are easy to attack,” Mr. Quiggin said. “Parliament Hill is, unfortunately, both an iconic target and a soft target.”

The warning from Mr. Quiggin, who now works at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, comes as a lawyer for one of 17 people arrested in an alleged terrorist plot last weekend said the Parliament Buildings — and the Prime Minister — were targets.

Mr. Quiggin said Canadians assume that the RCMP could handle that sort of attack and that politicians have taken steps to secure their own safety. But, he said, they would be wrong.

The security of the Parliament Buildings is the responsibility of four separate police forces: House of Commons Security, Senate Security, the RCMP and the Ottawa Police Service. The RCMP and the Commons Security operate in the same buildings but under different management.

The Commons committee on procedure and House affairs identified some of the critical issues that affect security on the Hill and their personal security in 2001-02, including having two security forces in the same building with no unified command.

But committee members “seemed to be more concerned with matters of political correctness than they were protecting even their own offices,” turning their attention to employment equity and bilingualism, Mr. Quiggin said.

If terrorists did attack Parliament Hill, Ottawa police would likely be called to the scene, he said. In non-business hours, when such events often occur, it is the municipal force that has the most cars and people in the area, he said.

“Picture yourself as an Ottawa police constable at four in the morning watching a car or truck headed up toward the Hill,” Mr. Quiggin said. “What would you do? And who would you call?”

Security authorities will not discuss what measures have been put in place since terrorist attacks killed thousands of Americans on Sept. 11, 2001. But it would appear to be relatively easy still for a speeding vehicle to drive through Parliament’s open front gate and up to the Peace Tower. There is also nothing that would stop a suicide bomber from parking beside the Langevin Block, which houses the Prime Minister’s offices, or other key sites such as the Supreme Court.

“One individual or a small group could attack this target,” Mr. Quiggin said of the Peace Tower. “The blame would likely fall on the RCMP because they are the most visible of all of the Canadian symbols. The real fault, however, lies within the building itself and those people who represent the best and the worst of Canadian qualities in political life.”

NDP Leader Jack Layton said yesterday that representatives from the various parties are meeting to discuss security issues “and we support that review.” Leaders of the other two opposition parties talked about the need to keep the halls of government accessible.

“None of us want to increase security in a way which inhibits the Canadian public to come to this, our Parliament of Canada, and participate in our democracy,” said interim Liberal leader Bill Graham.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said it was important to maintain a balanced approach between liberty and security.