Manitoba says it will bolster security at legislature, but won’t say how

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This article was published 08/07/2021 (1839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government promised to beef up security at the legislature a day after a man suspected of having mental-health issues drove his truck up onto the massive front steps of the grand building.

“We do need to make sure that (police officers) have the proper resources, to make sure that public spaces like the legislature are secure,” Finance Minister Scott Fielding said Thursday.

He was at the building Wednesday evening when an unnamed 33-year-old Winnipeg man drove a black Dodge pickup truck up through pylons and onto the steps of the legislature.

Fielding would not specify whether enhanced security measures would include installing bollards. Decisions about specifics are up to Justice Minister Cameron Friesen, who was not made available for an interview.

Instead, his office provided a statement, saying the government has commissioned a third-party security assessment.

“This report has become the blueprint used for the development of security modifications, which has been accelerated recently in lieu of security issues,” reads the statement attributed to Friesen.

Around 6:30 p.m., witnesses saw the truck driving erratically towards the legislative building and mowing down traffic cones at a construction site, though police said the truck did not hit any structures. The truck mounted the stairs at the main entrance and stopped.

Police would not explain how the driver managed to get that far despite the presence of enhanced security on the legislature grounds.

“Just by nature of where that building is located, and its prominence, there is often suspicious activity that can occur around it,” Const. Jay Murray told reporters.

“Security officers are often assigned to follow up on those matters.”

Police arrested the driver and he was taken to hospital for a medical assessment. He had no injuries and police believe he was sober, which suggests he will face a mental-health evaluation.

The man was charged with dangerous driving and a mischief under $5,000. A female passenger was released without being charged.

Police would not comment on motive, though witnesses said they heard the man yelling something about children in Ontario. Murray said provincial rules on patient confidentiality limit what police can disclose about the incident.

He would not comment on reports the same truck had circled the legislature, but he did say police were not following the vehicle before it crashed through traffic cones set up at a construction site.

Murray said security at the legislature was bolstered after a reservist from Bowsman, Man., stormed a gate at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the residence of the governor general, in July 2020.

“Whenever you have an incident like this, you’re going to see a significant response,” Murray said.

The legislative building and its grounds are overseen by protective services, a branch of Manitoba Justice.

Since 2016, Friesen said his department has upgraded security cameras and IT, and is working on improving “operation models, governance, equipment, training, technology systems, and more.”

Murray said officers regularly touch base with the Indigenous group that has camped out on the legislature grounds to commemorate children who died at residential schools, and are trying to de-escalate tension after statues of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria were vandalized and toppled on Canada Day.

“Our primary goal is to keep the peace,” said Murray, who commended the officers patrolling the area.

“It’s been a very long week for them, for a number of different reasons.”

— With files from Erik Pindera

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca