Ottawa man charged after lockdown on Parliament Hill, police say

Ottawa police say a 31-year-old man has been charged with multiple offences following an hours-long Parliament Hill lockdown on Saturday.

In a news release sent Sunday morning, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said the man entered the security screening area of the East Block of Parliament Hill around 2:40 p.m. Saturday and "began making threats to the safety of those inside."

"The man was isolated to the security screening area, and the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) and the [OPS] attended to facilitate an evacuation of the building and surrounding area," the release said.

According to officers, several packages were found in the area which were searched and cleared. Nobody was injured, and no explosives, weapons or hazardous materials were found on the man.

"After hours of negotiations, the man surrendered peacefully to police and was arrested on scene," the OPS added. 

The man, who was not named in the release, has been charged with a breach of probation, public mischief and uttering threats to cause property damage.

Police initially released a warning Saturday afternoon telling anyone in East Block, which houses parliamentary offices, to seek shelter in the nearest room, close and lock all doors and hide.

The building was then evacuated, as police temporarily shut down a significant stretch of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill — blocking traffic and pedestrians.

Hours after the lockdown began, police extended the exclusion zone from Wellington Street one block back to Sparks Street.

Ottawa police also brought in specialized units, including at least one canine unit and explosives units. Two bomb disposal unit robots were seen in front of Centre Block.

A government web page says the East Block houses the offices of senators and their staff, but there is little activity on the Hill because Parliament is dissolved for the ongoing federal election.

The same web page says the building once held the offices of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier, and that it still contains "faithful recreations of the offices of its famous occupants from the 19th century."