By Dan Reid
The Parliamentary Library of Canada is making some changes to its security policies after computer equipment was stolen from its new location at 125 Sparks St.
The library, which relocated from Parliament Hill to Sparks Street in the fall of 2001, had its offices broken into a little more than a month ago.
According to Ottawa police, an individual entered the offices of the library on Feb. 27 and made off with two computers, with an estimated value of $3,400.
Wes McLeod, an assistant to Canadian Alliance MP Deborah Grey, a member of the Library of Parliament committee, says one of the computers was the administrative computer of a low-level employee, and the other was a computer that contained no information.
McLeod says the two computers were not used for Parliamentary research and therefore did not contain any sensitive information.
He says in addition to the computer, a laser printer was stolen from the human resources branch of the library.
Frank Volpi, chief of material management at the library, says the incident was a crime of opportunity.
He pointed to the fact that other tenants at the 125 Sparks St. location have also been burglarized.
“The entire building has been hit,” says Volpi. “The fourth floor had some laptops stolen. On another evening, the 10th floor was involved; there was a theft there as well.”
Volpi says security at the library is good, but some changes will be made as a result of the break-in.
“The library has taken a few additional steps (to improve security) . . . we are going to be carrying out an awareness program and trying to improve employee vigilance. But I felt that security for our building is more than adequate, I don’t think we were lacking here.”
Volpi says the increased awareness is in response to the incident.
It is likely the perpetrator or perpetrators gained access to the building through an unlocked door.
“Someone may have gained access initially to the floor; someone may have left a door open,” says Volpi, “but to get into the offices, you needed to break or jimmy the lock.”
Volpi added that despite the fact the library is responsible for storing sensitive data, there is little chance that anything important was stolen.
He says sensitive and personal information used for research is stored on servers, which are located on Parliament Hill, or in locked cabinets at the 125 Sparks St. address.
Volpi says it is unlikely there was any important information on the stolen electronics.
The Parliamentary Library relocated to Sparks Street so renovations could be done on the existing facilities on Parliament Hill.
The renovations are expected to be completed within the next year.
Police say no arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.
An individual was noticed near the building who police say may be a suspect.
He is described as awhite male in his early 30s, with a slim build, wearing a dark blue jacket and blue baseball hat.