Police guarding Prime Minister Jean Chretien took six or seven minutes to respond after his wife reported a knife-wielding man had broken into their official residence, senior police officials said Monday.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Phil Murray said the Mounties had launched a probe into how security at the 24 Sussex Drive residence could have been so grossly violated and how this could be prevented in future."Quite clearly the fact this incident occurred is completely unacceptable," Murray told a news conference. "Our operational procedures require an immediate response.
"We're going to get to the bottom of it and determine why there were shortcomings in security and most importantly to make sure this kind of incident doesn't recur in the future."
Coming early on Sunday morning just 12 hours after Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, the incident shocked Canadians, and federal Solicitor-General Herb Gray said he expected a thorough report within a week or two.
"There have already been enhancements of security measures at 24 Sussex in light of the incident," Gray told reporters, adding that this was the first incident of its kind.
A 34-year-old convenience store worker, Andre Dallaire, was charged in an Ottawa courtroom on Monday with attempted murder of the prime minister among other charges.
Dressed in jeans and a blue jacket, the quiet, bespectacled man was ordered for psychiatric tests at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. He made no comment.
Dallaire is from the French-speaking province of Quebec, where a sovereignty referendum failed last week, but police refused to speculate on whether he had political motives.
The break-in highlighted a string of security shortfalls.
Mounties on guard first surrounded the house in an apparent attempt to stop the intruder's escape before entering and arresting Dallaire six or seven minutes after Aline Chretien's call. The delay drew heavy fire from local media.