Keep Wellington Street closed to vehicle traffic in front of Parliament Hill, committee recommends

Wellington Street should remain permanently closed to vehicle traffic in front of Parliament Hill following the 'Freedom Convoy' demonstration last winter, a House of Commons committee recommends.

That is one of eight recommendations from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs following its look at possibly expanding federal jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Precinct to include sections of Wellington and Sparks Street. The report called "Protecting the Parliamentary Precinct: Responding to Evolving Risks" was tabled on Wednesday.

Wellington Street has remained closed to vehicle traffic from Elgin Street to Bank Street since the end of the 'Freedom Convoy' protest.

The committee recommends keeping Wellington Street closed in front of Parliament Hill to traffic, with the vehicle exclusion zone expanding between the National War Memorial and Kent Street.

"That Wellington Street, from the War Memorial to Kent Street, be closed off to vehicular traffic, yet remain open to traffic related to parliamentary business, public tramways, pedestrians and other forms of active transportation," the committee recommends.

"An important objective is to highlight and promote Parliament Hill and the entire parliamentary precinct as the seat of Canadian democracy which is open to all."

There have been several calls for Wellington Street to remain closed to vehicles since the end of the 'Freedom Convoy', including from former Ottawa Police Chief Vern White and former Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney.

Ottawa police acting Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson told the committee in October that police do not have enough resources to deploy officers to staff gaps in the jersey barriers blocking access to Wellington Street 24 hours a day to prevent civilian vehicles from entering the area.

OC Transpo General Manager Renee Amilcar told the committee that OC Transpo wanted to continue operating along Wellington Street until a future STO tramway line is built, and called Wellington an efficient route to pick up and drop off Para Transpo riders.

Bank Street BIA Executive Director Christine Leadman told the committee that businesses do not agree with the closure of Wellington Street, and the prospect of closing the street permanently is a matter of "concern" and "anxiety" to businesses, according to the committee's reports.

Another recommendation from the committee is expanding federal jurisdiction of the operational security of Parliament Hill to include sections of Wellington and Sparks streets.

"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," the report's recommendations says.

Last June, former City Manager Steve Kanellakos told the committee the city had been holding "investigative discussions" with the federal government on potentially transferring ownership of Wellington Street to federal jurisdiction. Ottawa police and the city of Ottawa have jurisdiction and responsibility for Wellington Street. 

Other recommendations include the government continuing discussions with its partners on the potential expansion of the Parliamentary Precinct onto Wellington and Sparks streets, and creating a working group between parliamentary security officials, Ottawa police, Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP to establish a plan in the event of incidents on Parliament Hill.

Liberal MPs on the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs recommended the federal jurisdiction of Parliament Hill be expanded to include sections of Wellington and Sparks, and that the federal government takes over responsibility of Wellington and Sparks so it becomes part of Parliament Hill.

Meantime, Conservatives disagree with some of the recommendations, saying, "The majority of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee goes too far, too fast with some of its recommendations calling for an assertion of federal jurisdiction for security in downtown Ottawa and for the closure of Wellington Street."

The dissenting report from the Conservative Party says experts should have been allowed to collaborate on finding the "right approach" for a security plan.

Ottawa's mayor open to closing Wellington Street permanently

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says he is open to permanently closing Wellington Street to vehicle traffic, but officials must "consider the traffic implications."

"There are reasons to keep the street open and there are reasons to close the street," Sutcliffe said Thursday.

"I’ve kept an open mind about that issue and I want to look at all the evidence and information. I think there’s a traffic issue if we close the street, I think there’s a safety issue if we keep it open."

The Sparks Street BIA is opposed to closing Wellington Street.

"It's been very difficult since the road has been closed for merchants to get deliveries, customers to get down here," BIA executive director Kevin McHale said.

"Right now, the way it's currently done it's not being enforced anyways so the road closure really is only being observed by people who obey the law."

McHale notes Wellington Street is a major east-west route through the downtown core.

The owner of the Victoria Barber Shop estimates they have lost $1,000 a month with Wellington Street closed.

"With Wellington closed, a lot of my seniors just aren’t coming back because they can’t drive up here or park," Robin Seguin told CTV News Ottawa.

However, Seguin says it's a good idea that they keep the street closed since some of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy have suggested an anniversary event will be held in February.

With files from The Canadian Press