Liberals want to expand parliamentary precinct after Freedom Convoy

Federal security oversight of Parliament Hill should expand to include Wellington and Sparks streets, according to Liberal MPs who sit on a House of Commons committee studying parliamentary security after last winter's convoy protest.

The Liberals say a land transfer should take place between the City of Ottawa and the federal department in charge of public services, which would allow the street in front of the hill — Wellington — and the pedestrian street one block south of it — Sparks — to become part of the parliamentary precinct.

That's a stronger position than the one taken by the majority of MPs on the committee, which only suggested the land transfer "if necessary."

The second of eight recommendations made by the committee states "the federal jurisdiction for the operational security of Parliament Hill be expanded to include sections of Wellington and Sparks streets.

It also states, "if necessary, that a transfer of land take place between the City of Ottawa and Public Services and Procurement to allow for Wellington Street and Sparks Street to become part of Parliament Hill."

Conservatives disagree with the recommendations and say politicians should not be in charge of security.

That's a change of tone from 2015 — after the shooting on Parliament Hill — when the Conservative government led by then-prime minister Stephen Harper pushed through changes to hand over control of Parliament Hill security to the RCMP.

Letter in early March

Local liberal MPs Yasir Naqvi and Greg Fergus, the latter a member of this committee, had written to the committee in March asking it to consider expanding the precinct to Wellington and Sparks, along with rue Laurier in Gatineau. 

The committee's other recommendations include forming a working group of security agencies in and around the area and keeping Wellington closed to traffic permanently between Kent Street and the National War Memorial.

The road has been closed to public vehicles since the clearing of the weeks-long Freedom Convoy protest last February.

The parliamentary precinct currently encompasses all lands south of the Ottawa River and north of Wellington from the Rideau Canal to Kent, plus all lands north of Sparks and south of Wellington from Elgin Street to Bank Street.