Legislature security beefed up, Speaker Chris Collins says

Speaker Chris Collins says the Legislative Assembly is moving forward with new security measures, but he would not reveal what changes are being planned.

Collins, who was elected as the legislature’s new Speaker last week, told reporters on Tuesday that some of the new security measures are in place now but others still must be approved by a committee of MLAs.

The Speaker will not say whether security officials at the legislature are armed now or whether they will be in the future.

"It hurts the efficacy of the measures to make them public. So we'll be keeping them confidential."

Collins said the extra security measures won't be apparent to visitors and that the public won’t see any changes to access to the legislature.

Citizens can still observe debates and visit the library, he said.

Collins said it remains to be seen if the new security measures will cost more money.

The legislature was closed to the public last Wednesday after Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial and then stormed into the Parliament Buildings with his gun. He was killed shortly after by security officers.

Despite the decision to close New Brunswick's legislature to the public, there were two ceremonial events held in the building last week.

Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau was installed as the province’s new lieutenant-governor on Thursday and the province’s MLAs were sworn in on Friday.

Both of those events were invite-only, however.