‘No greater honour’
Parliament Hill hero named ambassador to Ireland,
OTTAWA— The appointment of Parliament Hill’s top cop, sergeant-at-rms Kevin Vickers, as Canada’s ambassador to Ireland was a reward from a grateful prime minister for ending the October rampage of gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
After announcing Vickers’ new posting Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper hailed his leadership, security and management experience and pointed to his “tremendous acts of heroism back on Oct. 22.”
“I think they speak for themselves and speak to his character and I know he will do a tremendous job as ambassador to Ireland, and I know he is looking forward to that assignment,” Harper said in Delta, B.C.
The quiet-spoken Vickers, whose appointment is effective Jan. 19, said in a written statement: “As a Canadian with family on both sides hailing from Ireland, there could be no greater honour. I am humbled by the invitation to serve my country in this way.”
Vickers, whose son Andrew is an RCMP officer also once cited for bravery for saving a drowning woman’s life, has never talked publicly about his role in stopping the attack.
He instead saluted his team and the wounded constable, Samearn Son, who sounded the first warning. On Thursday, Vickers thanked Canadians for their support in the last few months, adding, “You have my word that I will do my best to represent you in Ireland with pride and dignity.”
Harper said he’d known Vickers “for a very long time” and that it was his government who elevated him to the post of sergeant-at-arms.
For now, deputy sergeant-at-arms and director of protective services Pat McDonell, another ex-RCMP veteran, will lead the Hill security team. In the aftermath of the Oct. 22 attack, it has morphed into a unified force of Commons and Senate security officers responsible for security inside the buildings. The RCMP remains responsible for security outside the buildings, while Ottawa Police have jurisdiction over city streets at the edge of Parliament and beyond.
The moves are another shift in responsibilities for key national security files in a week that saw Harper appoint a new national security adviser and deputy adviser in his executive office. He also shuffled the hard-nosed Julian Fantino into a new cabinet assignment overseeing information technology security and foreign intelligence under the national defence umbrella.
Still to come are the appointments of a new deputy defence minister and a new foreign and defence policy adviser to Harper.
Also pending: the results of several Ontario Provincial Police probes into the events of Oct. 22 and the recommendations of a joint advisory working group on new security measures for the parliamentary precinct.
Vickers, 58, served as the top security officer for the elected legislature since 2006 after 29 years in the RCMP, during which time he never fired a shot at a suspect.
However, on the morning of Oct. 22 when Zehaf-Bibeau stormed onto the Hill and was wounded by Vickers’ security team, it was Vickers who finally brought down the assailant.
Zehaf-Bibeau had first shot at two ceremonial guards at the National War Memorial, killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo before hijacking a ministerial car and marching into Parliament. The actions of the RCMP and the Hill security forces, including Vickers, are still under outside review by the OPP.
Speaker Andrew Scheer praised Vickers’ “exceptional leadership.”
“His actions, and the bravery displayed by his entire security team this past October, will never be for- gotten. He has forged personal connections with many parliamentarians, and so while this news is welcomed as an excellent recognition of his skills and abilities, we are somewhat sad to see him leave.” Other parliamentarians chimed in. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau tweeted that Vickers “showed great courage and diplomatic skill as Parliament’s Sgt-at-Arms. Best wishes on his new role as ambassador to Ireland.”
“I am proud to call him my friend and I wish him all the success in his new role,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.