New Brunswick

Chris Collins says unclear when legislature will reopen to public

The new Speaker of the New Brunswick Legislature says it's too soon to say when the building will open to the public again.

Sergeant-at-arms closed legislature to public because of Ottawa shooting Wednesday

Premier Brian Gallant and Opposition Leader Bruce Fitch performed the custom of dragging the newly-elected Speaker, Chris Collins, to his chair on Friday. (CBC)

The new Speaker of the New Brunswick Legislature says it's too soon to say when the building will open to the public again.

Chris Collins was elected to the job by MLAs Friday.

On Wednesday, the sergeant-at-arms closed the legislature to the public because of the shooting in Ottawa.

Collins told reporters he'll meet with the sergeant-at-arms next week to discuss security.

"I want to meet with staff and I want to meet with the legislative assembly committee, to ensure that we make the right decisions, and that safety of our members is paramount to the legislative assembly," he said.

There were two ceremonial events at the New Brunswick Legislature in the last two days.

The new lieutenant-governor was installed on Thursday and MLAs, who were elected last month, were officially sworn in Friday.

Both of those events were invite-only.