Emergency personnel preparing for Canada 150 bash on Hill
OTTAWA — Be alert but not alarmed, police are urging Canadians who will congregate under the Peace Tower next month for Canada 150 celebrations — a massive public gathering for which intelligence agencies and emergency teams have spent months preparing.
Experts are well aware of what is at stake on July 1, especially after the deadly shootings that erupted on Parliament Hill in 2014.
“When you’re talking about (Canada) 150, you’re talking about bringing a number of Canadians together,” said Terence Chase, a former Canadian Forces soldier and director of B.C.-based security consultants Defense Intelligence Service.
“It is exactly the target-rich environment that (attackers) are looking for.”
Ottawa police Supt. Joan McKenna, who oversees planning for Canada Day events, said officers in the national capital will take an all-hands-on-deck security approach that will include everything from canine units to carbines and long guns.
“We can’t control everything,” McKenna said. “What we can control is that there is strong communication between the federal intelligence agencies, the RCMP and our Ottawa police intelligence section. ”
The public should be vigilant, but not afraid, she added. “There’s lots of eyes and ears out there — not just the police but there’s the public city workers, anyone part of emergency planning,” McKenna said.
A number of road closures and barricades will also be in place to prevent vehicle access, McKenna said.
Susan Adamson, a Calgary resident who was visiting Parliament Hill this week, said she would not think twice about taking in Canada 150 celebrations in Ottawa if she were here for the occasion.
“I think it is kind of exciting — 150 years,” she said. “I would be aware of my surroundings, but I’m not that worried.”