Edmonton council chambers get tighter security measures

Council chambers at Edmonton city hall will soon be fortified with new security measures, including metal detectors and a glass partition separating councillors from the public.

The additional security changes were debated and approved in a private meeting Monday. Although the report itself remains confidential, councillors began speaking about the changes publicly Thursday.

A new partition will create a perimeter around the council table, in case anyone tries to rush past security guards. The new barrier will be 1-1/2 metres high; a half wall, with a short glass partition on top.

Those attending public meetings will have to pass through a pair of metal detectors set up just outside council chambersand undergo bag searches.

'Bunker mentality'

Coun.Mike Nickel voted against the changes. He says the pending installation of a wall is especially troubling.

"It's going to disrupt the workflow, and it's going to create an ambience of a bunker mentality here.

"And listen, this Edmonton, this is not Florida or the United States.

"We shouldn't try to put barriers between us and the public. I think we have to do our jobs, so we have to take the good with the rowdy in the back,and if there are metal detectors and bags searches, why do we need the wall at all?"

The new security measures match those brought in by Calgary city council last yearand the costs are expected to be similar.

The metal detectors in Calgary cost approximately $100,000 annually, andthe funds will be pulled from administration's existing security budget.

The security changes are expected to be in place before the new year.

'I'm not keen'

Councillor BenHendersonsays he has never felt threatened during his time in council chambers, but says some city clerks, who sit with their back to the public, have felt unnerved during some meetings. He voted against the new measures.

Henderson said upping security leavesthe impression that people who use threats and violence are winning the battle for public space.

"I'm not keen. One of the things I liked about our city hall was that it feels so open and welcoming to the public.

"I think it's very sad if that's going to be undermined.I think we're going to work really hard to make sure that sense of welcome is still there, but that's the price we're paying with this."

Although Coun.Ed Gibbons initially took issue with the security searches, he says a presentation from administration convinced him that the changes were justified.

'New age, new world'

"There have only been a few times in all my years that there probably could have been incidents, but I think it's a new age, new world, and I think that everyone is concerned that we make it look like we're harder to get to," Gibbons told CBCNews Thursday.

"But there's some getting used to, moving forward with this particular one."

The new rules were not prompted by a specific threat or event, Gibbons said,but part of an ongoing review by the councillor services department which was launched in the spring.

Gibbons says the new measures will help councillorsand city clerksfeel safer and allow security staff to more easily perform their duties at public hearings.

• Calgary council approves new security measures

"For the 15 years I've sat where I have, have I felt insecure? Not very often,but the odd time," Gibbons said.

"You can have individuals who try and stare you down. They'll sit there and try and stare you down the whole damn meeting and people have had death threats over the years."

And even though Gibbons acknowledges the security benefits, he suggested that it's the time spent outside ofcity hall when councillors are most at risk.

"Some people leave themselves too exposed by being overly newsworthy.

"There are those over my 15 years, going on 16 years, they are the ones that come back and say they have been assaulted or threatened verbally."