Proposed city hall bag inspections 'an unfortunate sign of our times'

Things could look a little different for people walking into Saskatoon's city council chambers starting on Nov. 1.

The City of Saskatoon wants its contract security staff to visually inspect the contents of all bags and backpacks carried inside the chambers.

The step toward enhanced security is meant to give piece of mind for councillors and people attending meetings and guard against a worst-case scenario. It is not meant for people simply entering the city hall building.

"It's an unfortunate sign of our times that we have to embark on such measures. We think it's a moderate measure," said Kerry Tarasoff, the city's general manager of asset and financial management.

No touching

The inspection, steps away from the entry doors to chambers, would apply to all bags, backpacks, briefcases, purses, packages or other bulky objects brought by people to council meetings. The Commissionairesworkers, who provide security at city hall, would not touch anything.

"We had a few moments where we have seen people in the gallery with large duffel bags and council and the administration become very nervous," said Tarasoff.

The inspection is being suggested instead of stricter measures seen in other cities such as metal detectors or pat-downs.

In a comparison of whereSaskatoon stands security-wise compared to other cities, Regina the second largest city in Saskatchewan also does not have any sort of visitor screening.

Tarasoff said the suggestions do not come at the request of any city councillor. Nor are they a response to any specific incident in Saskatoon, though he did cite the white powder scares in Saskatoon (one of which happened at Saskatoon city hall last May) and a lockdown of North Bay's city hall building in June.

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"If something did happen, I think we'd feel really bad and very irresponsible that we hadn't taken any action," Tarasoff said.

The safety of Saskatoon city councillors came up in May, before a vote on the touchy issue of fire pits. Councillor Bed Dubois said thatfuture public consultation on the issue should take place online instead of in public, citing a threatening text she received from someone on the issue.

Expanded list of banned items

The city also wants to expand the list of banned items to include noisemakers, knives, blades, firearms, ammunition and explosives.

The current list only precludesfood and beverages (not including water).

City councillor Darren Hill is saying "nay" to the proposals.

"And let people bring a travel mug into chambers!" he said.

The ideas will come up at city hall on Monday but would still need to be approved by council at a future meeting.