Proceedings of the Standing Committee on
Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration

Issue 8 - Fifteenth Report of the Committee

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to table its

FIFTEENTH REPORT

Your Committee, which was authorized to examine the subject matter of those elements contained in Division 10 of Part 3 of Bill C-59, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 21, 2015 and other measures, introduced in the House of Commons on May 7, 2015, has, in obedience to the order of reference of May 14, 2015, examined the said subject matter and now reports as follows:

Introduction

Your Committee had been reviewing the issue of the proposed unification of the security services operating within the parliamentary precincts and on Parliament Hill, pursuant to its authority under rule 12-7(1) before the Senate authorized it to consider Division 10 of Part 3 of Bill C-59. After receiving this order of reference, the committee heard from Michel Patrice, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel and Chief Parliamentary Precinct Services Officer and Gilles Duguay, Director General of Parliamentary Precinct Services at its meeting of June 4, 2015.

On February 24, 2015 the Senate adopted a motion on security and the need to create a unified security force. This motion stated that "The Senate, following the terrorist attack of October 22, 2014, recognize the necessity of fully integrated security throughout the Parliamentary precinct and the grounds of Parliament Hill, as recommended by the Auditor General in his 2012 report and as exists in other peer legislatures; and call on the Speaker, in coordination with his counterpart in the House of Commons, to invite, without delay, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to lead operational security throughout the Parliamentary precinct and the grounds of Parliament Hill, while respecting the privileges, immunities and powers of the respective Houses, and ensuring the continued employment of our existing and respected Parliamentary Security staff.'' This motion was similar to one adopted in the House of Commons on February 16, 2015. The measures contained in Division 10 of Part 3 of Bill C-59 constitute one of the necessary components to put in effect these motions.

Parliamentary Protective Service

Division 10 of Part 3 of Bill C-59 proposes amendments to the Parliament of Canada Act. These amendments would establish the legal framework that creates a new entity to serve both Houses, the Parliamentary Protective Service, which is to provide physical security throughout the parliamentary precinct and the grounds of Parliament Hill by a single, integrated security service to be led by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to be known as the "Director of the Parliamentary Protective Service''. This integrated service will include the Senate Protective Service, the House of Commons Protective Service and members of the RCMP. This new unified service will have comprehensive responsibility for "all matters with respect to physical security'' on the grounds of Parliament Hill and within the parliamentary precinct. The precinct is defined to mean the premises designated in writing by either the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Commons and used by either House or the Library, as well as any committee of either House, and their members carrying out their parliamentary functions. Premises would also include the spaces occupied by the Senate Ethics Officer and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

To supplement the legislation, an arrangement between the Speakers of the Senate and House of Commons and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is to further provide and define the role and responsibilities of the parties, including how the Director is to be selected. The role of the Speakers, as the custodians of the powers, privileges, rights and immunities of their respective Houses will be significant. As stated in proposed subsection 79.52(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act they are "responsible for the Service,'' and as explained in proposed subsection 79.54(2) the Speakers will jointly provide general policy direction to the Director who will lead, control, and manage the Parliamentary Protective Service. An estimate of the sums required to operate the Parliamentary Protective Service during the coming fiscal year will be prepared by the Director under the direction of the Speakers and after consideration will be provided to the President of the Treasury Board, who shall lay them before the House of Commons with the estimates of the government for that fiscal year.

Transitional Provisions

The Parliamentary Protective Service will come into being once Bill C-59 receives Royal Assent. However, there will be a significant transition period before the component elements of the Parliamentary Protective Service are fully operational and completely integrated. Bill C-59 explains how this period will be managed. For example, current employees of the Senate Protective Service and the House of Commons Protective Service will retain their employment status, collective agreements, and arbitral awards. Their collective bargaining rights will also be respected.

Michel Patrice and Gilles Duguay explained the progress that has been made to date in anticipation of the transition period, which could last for some time. The Committee heard that officials from all the affected organisations are diligently working on various operational groups (Human Resources, Finance, Information Services, Legal, et cetera.) to canvass the various issues in this transitional period and make certain that no impediments will hinder the proper functioning of this new entity.

Work continues to ensure the smooth transition, and progress to date has been encouraging. Still, there will be challenges in working out the details along the way for this new single Parliamentary Protective Service. The practices and traditions that have developed as part of the separate identity of the Senate Protective Service and House of Commons Protective Service will have to be accommodated through this transition period until the new identity of the unified service emerges. This will be one of the tasks of the Director of the Protective Service, as well as the role of ensuring smooth liaison and progressive integration between the structures being integrated into the new organization.

Parliamentary Privilege

As already noted, the responsibility assigned to the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons for the Parliamentary Protective Service is in keeping with their custodianship of the powers, privileges, rights and immunities of their respective Houses and all their members. This obligation to respect the privileges of Parliament is important. Proposed section 79.58 confirms this reality. It makes clear that none of the provisions in Division 10 of Part 3 creating the Parliamentary Protective Service, "shall be construed as limiting in any way the powers, privileges, rights and immunities of the Senate and the House of Commons and their members.'' This statutory commitment to respect parliamentary privilege will likely be a challenge for the Parliamentary Protective Service. Past experience has shown that the necessary preoccupation with security can, on occasion, interfere with the legitimate privileges of parliamentarians who expect unimpeded access to all parts of Parliament Hill and the parliamentary precinct. It is unlikely that, in most instances, this interference will constitute a genuine breach of privilege, but it is a matter of real concern. Protocols will need to be established and respected.

Conclusion

Your committee considers that Division 10 of Part 3 of Bill C-59 strikes a balance between the competing needs at play in the provision of security throughout the parliamentary precinct and the grounds of Parliament Hill, and that the proposed measures respect the resolutions of February 2015. The committee therefore supports these elements of the bill.

Respectfully submitted,

LEO HOUSAKOS

Chair