The woman accused by Ottawa police of stealing two cars and trying to improperly gain access to the Parliament Buildings is an employee of the government nerve centre that supports the Prime Minister, The Globe and Mail has learned.Blair Gable/The Globe and Mail
The woman accused by Ottawa police of stealing two cars and trying to improperly gain access to the Parliament Buildings is an employee of the government nerve centre that supports the Prime Minister, The Globe and Mail has learned.
A Privy Council Office spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Catherine Côté works as a human-resources assistant at PCO. However, Raymond Rivet said Ms. Côté has not been at work since last Monday, when she was charged with two counts of theft of a vehicle and one count of theft under $5,000 after the incident on Parliament Hill. Mr. Rivet said he could not provide any more information about Ms. Côté's working arrangement, citing privacy concerns.
Police said Ms. Côté, who was unarmed, arrived on Parliament Hill around 3:30 p.m. last Monday, after allegedly abandoning a stolen taxi on Wellington Street in front of the Hill. Only authorized vehicles, such as ministerial cars, are allowed on Parliament Hill.
Read more: Woman charged after trying to get into Centre Block, stealing car on Parliament Hill
She then walked past RCMP security guards on the Hill, including the tactical unit, to the visitors' entrance of Centre Block and told the guards she was a parliamentary employee wanting to enter the building. Ms. Côté did not have a Hill pass and was denied entry.
Police said Ms. Côté allegedly proceeded to get into a nearby unoccupied vehicle which, according to court documents, was the "property of Gregg Lalonde." A Senate spokesperson confirmed that Mr. Lalonde is a parking control officer with the Corporate Security Directorate, which oversees certain security matters, such as accreditation and parking on the Senate side of the Hill. The spokesperson refused to say whether it was a personal or parliamentary vehicle, citing security concerns.
A parliamentary security source said it was an idling Senate traffic vehicle, noting that parking-control officers have been told they do not have to turn off their vehicles while on patrol.
Ms. Côté then allegedly drove toward the Hill exit. She was soon stopped by RCMP on Lower Drive, a restricted roadway on the Hill grounds, and arrested. Ottawa Police then arrived and took her into custody, where she was held overnight.
Court documents say Ms. Côté was released on a $1,000 bond the next day. She is scheduled to appear in an Ottawa court on March 27.
Police said last week that Ms. Côté will undergo a mental-health assessment and that a referral to the mental-health court would be made.
Parliament was quieter than normal when the incident happened, as MPs and senators were on a break week. Melissa Rusk, a spokeswoman for the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS), said last week the safety and security of the visitors, grounds and parliamentarians were not at risk during the incident.
Ms. Rusk would not say whether Hill security was beefed up after Monday's events, but did note that the PPS examines its security measures daily based on domestic and international threats.
Jez Littlewood, an assistant professor at Carleton University and associate director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, said he does not see a need for increased Hill security after last week's incident.
"She was prevented from getting access [to Centre Block] … so, yes, I think in that case the security systems worked," Mr. Littlewood said.
This isn't the first time a car has been stolen from Parliament Hill grounds. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stole a car to drive to Parliament Hill after fatally shooting Corporal Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial on Oct. 22, 2014. Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau then hijacked a minister's car on the Hill and drove up to Centre Block, where he stormed the front doors of Parliament with a rifle. He was shot dead moments later by security guards, RCMP officers and then sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers.
Security was increased after the 2014 attack and the PPS was created, integrating the House and Senate security services under the command of the RCMP and speakers of both houses.