City hall's new security measures garner mixed reviews

Ottawa city hall implemented enhanced security measures at its public entrances Monday, raising questions about what led to them and whether they're actually warranted.

Visitors to city hall must now undergo bag checks and pass through a metal detector to enter the building. They're also prohibited from bringing in sharp objects, aerosols and other banned items.

Access to the building has been limited to the entrances at Laurier Avenue W. and Lisgar Street.

The city announced the new measures earlier this month, noting they're in line with those at other public buildings in the capital including the Ottawa Courthouse next door. Other municipalities such as Toronto have had similar measures in place for years.

"These measures will enable people to use the building freely, knowing that we took the steps necessary to maintain security," the city's director of public safety Beth Gooding told CBC on Monday.

Gooding pegged the initial cost for the security equipment at $350,000, plus an unknown amount for staffing. Staffing costs will be better known in six months when the city has had a chance to assess the new system.

On Monday, several security guards stood at the entrances directing visitors, many of whom were surprised by the new procedures despite the city's advance warning.

"The first time I came here there weren't any metal detectors," said Nishika Singh, who was at city hall to get married. She said the security guards were "easygoing" and allowed her to keep her jewelry on, but it did take extra time to get through.

Some visitors don't mind the changes.

"This morning I've had a pocket knife confiscated," said Ken Medd, one of the first to try out the new metal detectors. "I'm happy to let it go to preserve the safety of people in public spaces."

But not everyone is in favour.

"City hall should be a place where the public is welcome to visit, to participate in our democracy, but also to carry out necessary functions," said Toon Dreesen, an Ottawa architect who often visits the downtown building.

"Whether that's visiting Service Ontario or applying for a building permit, meeting with the councillor or just walking through the space — this is a public building," he said.

City hall had security gates installed at the entrance to the council chamber in late 2019.

But Dreesen said he doesn't see the need for any more restrictions, and fears it could discourage civic engagement.

"I don't think we've seen the kind of threat that is necessary, that warrants this kind of intrusion, and what it ends up doing is turning people away from wanting to go," he said.

"It should be treated like a public street because it is a public building, paid for with public dollars, to create this interior street that links these sort of functions at a ground level," said Dreesen. 

Gooding said while there was no single incident that prompted the additional safety measures, city hall has seen safety threats in the past.

She also pointed to a March 2024 incident at Edmonton city hall where a man entered the building with a semi-automatic rifle and four Molotov cocktails. 

Gooding said there's no reason for the new measures to deter people from visiting city hall. 

"From an operational perspective absolutely nothing has changed," she said. "Everything people could do in the building last week, they can do in the building this week."

City hall's hours of operation remain the same. During weekends, access to the building will be limited to the Laurier Avenue W. entrance, though people with disabilities will be able to call for assistance from the Lisgar Street entrance.