Council divided over city hall security measures
Kate Porter | CBC News | Posted: December 17, 2019 9:00 AM | Last Updated: December 17, 2019
'You're planning for the unknown,' says Mayor Jim Watson
New security checks for Ottawa city council meetings announced last week are stirring debate: Are they necessary to keep elected officials safe, or will they stifle public participation in city business?
By council's next meeting in January, visitors, staff and councillors themselves will have to pass through one of two security checkpoints as they enter the council chamber at Ottawa city hall.
Guards will screen the public's bags for banned objects — not just flammable material, sharp objects and guns, but also outside food and drink, noisemakers and signs or banners.
The reaction on social media was swift, with regular council attendees questioning why signs should be prohibited, and why residents with health issues should go hours without food. (Exceptions will be made for councillors and members of the media, the city confirmed last week.)
Some councillors, including Shawn Menard, Catherine McKenney, Mathieu Fleury and Jeff Leiper said they felt the security measures go too far.
"My greatest concern is that we don't limit access by the public, we don't make it so difficult that people don't show up," McKenney said.
'Planning for the unknown'
Mayor Jim Watson said he finds the measures reasonable, and said he's willing to trust the experts.
"I don't believe any of my colleagues are experts on security. I certainly am not," Watson said.
Parliament Hill, Queen's Park and council chambers in other cities all require screening of some sort, he pointed out.
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"You're planning for the unknown," Watson said. "We didn't know that there was going to be a lunatic [who would] kill a soldier at the war monument and then shoot up the Hall of Honour at Parliament Hill," he said, referring to the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in 2014.
"We have to take care of the people who visit city hall, and the people who work there."
Death threat
Coun. Riley Brockington told CBC he's never faced an unsafe situation in the council chamber, but he did receive a death threat earlier this year, and had a security detail for several months in 2018 after a separate incident.
"I don't want this to become a police state. I do want it to be the people's place, with the understanding there will be some basic requirements when you enter the public gallery," he said.
The measures stem from an audit into corporate security conducted in April. The city's auditor general recommended management review its guidelines for high-profile meetings, although he never specifically mentioned checkpoints outside the council chamber.
The City of Ottawa had previously installed bollards outside city hall, and posted more security guards outside the council chamber doors during meetings.