Toronto considering more city hall security

Toronto politicians are considering major changes to security screening at city hall, but several councillors say the proposed measures would make the public building less accessible to constituents.

City staff have tabled a report calling for a raft of security measures, including airport-style metal detectors, X-ray machines, hand-held security wands, a glass partition separating the public from the city council chamber, and physical barriers to prevent vehicles from driving onto pedestrian areas outside.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said violent attacks around the world make it necessary to reexamine city hall’s security measures. But he would not support or oppose any of the recommendations until the city hears from members of the public who visit and work at city hall.

“Nobody is pushing any panic buttons in these reports … but they say the obvious,” Tory said. “When you have the iconic city hall ... and you have all the people who visit here and who work here every day, it is one building that you can’t afford to say, ‘well, it’ll be fine.’”

City hall has “almost no security” compared to other public spaces in Toronto, Tory added.

“The public go to rock concerts, they go to hockey games, they go to many, many other buildings in the city including Queen’s Park, court houses, even sometimes private sector office buildings, where they face a lot more security than they face here,” he said. “I’m not sure which one is right, but I’m saying there’s a clear discrepancy between the two.”

The recommended upgrades — which would cost $774,000 per year for new security staff and $500,000 for one-time capital purchases — stem from confidential security assessments conducted by Toronto police and Public Safety Canada earlier this year. Neither police nor the federal security agency would provide any details from their respective assessments when asked.