Union pans plan to beef up City Hall security
Head of CUPE Local 79 says he’s heard no safety concerns from members in the building and he would prefer the money be spent on subsidized recreation spots for low-income Torontonians.
TheStar.com
Nov. 24, 2017
David Rider
A representative for thousands of city staff at Toronto City Hall is panning a proposed security clampdown for the famous building.
Tim Maguire, president of CUPE Local 79, said taxpayers’ money would be better spent on services for people, not metal detectors and glass barriers.
“I have heard zero concerns,” from the union’s “few thousand” members in city hall that they are vulnerable to attacks by terrorists or others, Maguire said in an interview Friday.
“It’s excellent that the mayor wants to hear from (city) employees and the public, but we should have been consulted through the joint occupational health and safety committee in that building before a report was tabled.”
Mayor John Tory said Thursday he is not endorsing any particular security plan and wants feedback from the public and city staff, now that details in a confidential section of the report on city hall security, meant for city councillors’ eyes only, were revealed this week by the Star.
Threat assessments from Toronto police service and Public Safety Canada warn that the bustling building, a symbol of Toronto and Canada, is a “target for serious threats” from “lone wolf terrorists, organized terror groups, and other individuals with grievances.”
City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square outside it are vulnerable to “active attackers,” improvised explosive devices and vehicle-borne IEDs, the report says.
In the report going to Tory’s executive committee next week, a deputy city manager recommends council adopt recommended measures including: walk-through metal detectors at the front door; hand-held wand detectors for those who set off alarms; bag inspections; a waist-high glass wall in committee rooms, and raising a glass wall in the council chamber to protect politicians and staff.
There would be a special lane for politicians and city staff who would only have to show their access identification.
Maguire called the proposed measures “over the top,” and said money for them — $774,000 a year for extra security plus another $500,000 in one-time capital costs — would be better spent increasing the number of subsidized recreation spots for low-income Torontonians who now face a huge waiting list.
“If there are security concerns, we have to look at safety, but we have to balance that with the beautiful openness and transparency of City Hall,” said Maguire, who added that this has allowed community groups and others to speak to councillors and get policies changed.
“I’ve brought representatives from unions of other levels of government to city council and they comment on how open and accessible politicians are. Whatever balance has to be struck, then that has to be maintained.”
City spokeswoman Wynna Brown disputed that the joint occupational health and safety committee did not hear concerns about security, saying the topic was raised at eight meetings over the past two years.
She could not, however, point to any committee discussions about metal detectors or other measures on the table now. She said that city staff will work closely with the committee on the implementation of whatever city council approves.
COTAPSA, the association representing non-union city staff, refused comment on the proposed security changes.
City councillors, expected to have final say at next month’s council meeting, are split on the issue.
Some, such as Gord Perks, say City Hall is the “people’s palace” and should be as open as a sidewalk. If there are issues with dangerous people having access to weapons, that should be addressed outside City Hall, he said.
Others, including former MP Jim Karygiannis, say City Hall is under-protected, compared to Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill, which beefed up security after a man killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and stormed the Centre Block.
“We’re sitting ducks,” Karygiannis told the Star.
