We do not have any Members of Parliament in Canada right now. The 37th Parliament has been dissolved. But a lot of people are vying to become Members following election day on June 28. Lets hope their vying will not lead to their dying.

When they take their seats in the Chamber of the House of Commons in the 38th Parliament many will receive national exposure for the first time in their lives. And, like returning Members, they will be exposed in a way they do not deserve.

Just last month, in the British House of Commons, there was a vivid example of the danger Members faced when not protected from a well planned act of missile attack. It was captured on television and shown worldwide.

To give some background to the story, legislators and those charged with their security, knew that a Chamber open to public galleries would inevitably be a target in today's world of global terrorism. Accordingly, a temporary glass screen was erected between the galleries and the Chamber during the Easter recess. It was hoped this would protect Members from hand-thrown missiles.

But, like the ill-fated, badly flawed Maginot Line designed to defend France against German attack, it stopped short of complete encirclement. There was a gap in it. It did not include the gallery reserved for ambassadors, members of the House of Lords, their guests, and MPs' guests.

We have similar galleries overlooking the Chamber in Ottawa.

At Westminster, two guests of Baroness Golding, a member of the House of Lords, took advantage of the gap to hurl prophylactics filled with purple powder at the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and succeeded in hitting him. Had the powder been an air dispersible chemical poison, there is no telling how many Members would have been killed or incapacitated.

There is no security screen between the public galleries and the Chamber in Ottawa. True, there are metal detectors, video cameras, and protective staff throughout the Parliament Buildings, but despite the best efforts of all concerned they have not been effective in preventing breaches of security.

This is a topic that has been covered on this web site on a number of occasions. Our Canadian MPs deserve the best protection we can give them, consonant with the preservation of heritage, dignity, decorum, and parliamentary tradition. When, not if, a fully transparent, missile protection screen is installed in the Commons Chamber, it is to be hoped a lesson has been learned from the lamentable breach of security at Westminster. In short, it must include all galleries, Public, Press, Senate, Guests', Diplomats', and Officials'.

There is a clear and present danger to all who serve in the Canadian Commons. There is an equally clear and present duty to protect our Members of Parliament to the very best of our ability.

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