Senators receive panic buttons in response to rising concerns about security on Parliament Hill

Canada's senators have been issued panic buttons as concerns about the safety of members of Canada's upper house pile up, CBC News has learned.

Senators have been targeted by online harassment campaigns and threatening phone calls in recent weeks. In November, Conservative Sen. Don Plett's car was surrounded by pro-Palestinian protesters who banged on the windows and climbed onto the hood of his car while he was headed to a Conservative caucus meeting on Parliament Hill.

Sen. Peter Boehm, a career diplomat, said senators once thought they were shielded from the kinds of security risks sometimes faced by members of Parliament.

«All that I have noticed in my time in the Senate is that the threat levels have increased,» he said. «The personal safety of senators is a concern.»

Boehm said senators first began to feel the security environment had changed during the convoy protest that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for weeks in early 2022.

«I got hassled a few times, but I'm a tall white guy,» he said. «Some of my colleagues, reflecting the diversity that the Senate now reflects, brown or black or women, wearing masks, they were significantly hassled.»

Senators were offered mobile duress devices — also known as panic buttons — early last fall, more than a year after the House of Commons offered them to MPs.

Boehm said accepting the buttons was voluntary and some senators didn't feel they needed them. Some accepted them but don't necessarily keep them on hand at all times, he said.

The Senate and the Parliamentary Protective Service have refused to say what prompted the decision to offer senators panic buttons, or how much the measure is costing.

«The Senate has taken steps to provide additional support for senators' security when they are