‘Screening’ of Toronto city hall visitors gets panned
Calls for "patron screening" and other security measures go against the idea of an open city hall, some councillors say.

Thestar.com
David Rider
Nov. 21, 2017

Some Toronto councillors say they’ll fight proposed new city hall security that could include metal detectors at the doors.

They were reacting to a city staff report, most of it secret, going to Mayor John Tory’s executive committee. It calls for “patron screening” at the bustling building.

“They’re not patrons, they’re citizens and this is their palace,” Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14 Parkdale-High Park) said in an interview Tuesday.

“The accessibility of city hall should be the same as the accessibility of the sidewalk. If our society has too many weapons in it to make this place safe, then we need to deal with that problem, not make it difficult for an ordinary citizen to come in and watch their civic government in action.”

Public portions of the report also call for “vehicle mitigation measures”, installation of a “physical measure” between public and reserved space in committee meeting rooms, and a “physical security measure” in the council chamber.

What exactly that means is in a confidential report going to city councillors on Wednesday. City staff advises it never be made public for security reasons.

The proposals are based on “assessments from the Toronto Police Service and Public Safety Canada, best practices, and benchmarking.”

City hall contains, as well as political meeting space and offices, a public library, a restaurant, a daycare, a wedding chapel and two towers of staff offices.

Councillor Paula Fletcher also vowed to fight anything that makes it more difficult for members of the public to come and go.

“People say we should have security like the Legislature but city hall is an open place people come here to get building permits and parking permits, or to watch their council make decisions,” she said. “We don’t need metal detectors and walls.”

City hall has no barriers at the front doors just a security desk nearby. Access to other doors has been limited to passholders since enhanced security was imposed, at a current cost of $9,000 per week for city hall alone, after an October 2014 attack on Parliament Hill.

Tory is “dedicated to making sure all our residents and employees in our city facilities are safe,” spokesman Don Peat said. “There are modern realities that mean safety has to be a priority. To that end, the mayor must take the advice from our safety experts; but city hall is a public building, and so he looks forward to also hearing from the public on this matter.”

City council would have final say over any new measures.