City hall has new security screening measures. Do they go too far?

Heightened concern: Whether you’re attending a city council or committee meeting, getting a marriage licence, eating at the cafe, or just going in to use the washroom, you will now need to go through a security checkpoint to enter city hall. And it’s causing some controversy. 

“Over the years, security risks and incidents have evolved, resulting in various levels of government updating their security procedures for entry into their administrative and legislative centres,” the city said in a media release last week.

• “As a result, the city will be adopting security screening measures, which is a best practice model that is currently in place in other public-facing government buildings in the national capital region, as well as at City Hall buildings in Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal.”

What to expect: The new measures are similar to what you would go through at a sports game or the airport. All coats, cellphones, laptops, purses, bags and anything in your pocket will need to be placed onto a tray for X-ray screening. Visitors would then need to walk through a metal detector. 

• The cost: The city is spending $350,000 on equipment. At this point, it’s unclear how much extra they will need to spend on staffing. 

The measures aren’t entirely new: Five years ago, security access gates were installed at the two entrances to the Council Chambers’ foyer. All purses, bags and overcoats of visitors had to be checked. 

A list of prohibited items was also implemented including: Beverages, noisemakers, megaphones or air horns, signs and banners, sharp objects, blades or striking tools, explosive or flammable items, and firearms (including toy and replicas). 

• The doors to the mayor's office and councillors’ row have also been locked for some time, meaning it requires someone to buzz you in for access. 

So why add more now?: What the statement did not say was why the city felt security measures had to go beyond that. The Lookout surveyed a number of councillors’ thoughts and they said because the matter was discussed in camera, they couldn’t provide any more details than what the initial statement read. 

When asked if the measures went too far, reactions were mixed. One councillor said some city staff expressed concerns over safety and didn’t want to underestimate their emotions. Another said what they were told in camera made a compelling argument for beefing up security. But there were also concerns about what this could mean for the many people who enter city hall for leisure activities such as visiting the art gallery, sports hall of fame, cafe, or any of the many events that are held there. 

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told 580 CFRA that city hall is one of the only buildings in downtown Ottawa that did not have security measures in place, and noted the measures were meant to keep up “with what’s going on in the world.”

• “All across the country, we’re seeing civic buildings being targeted, and we want to make sure that City Hall is a safe place for our employees, first and foremost, and for members of the public who are coming to City Hall for events,” said Sutcliffe. 

The mayor referenced an incident which occurred at Edmonton’s city hall in January 2024 when shots were fired and a Molotov cocktail was thrown. 

The opposition: Toon Dreesen, an Ottawa architect who often visits city hall, told CBC he thought the measures went too far. 

• "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," he said. 

Alex Cullen, the former councillor for Bay Ward and spouse to current representative Theresa Kavanagh, agrees. 

• “Decisions about denying the public access (through these "security" measures) to a public building built to be accessible to the public (and paid for by the public), should have been debated and voted on (accountability!) in the public. This decision is bad policy,  bad politics,” he said on Twitter.