Toronto 
Visitors to Toronto City Hall will undergo baggage screening to access certain areas of City Hall starting Monday, September 17.
Baggage screening will be located on the east and west sides of the main floor rotunda and at the Hagerman Street entrance of City Hall. Baggage screening will not be required to access City services such as the library and the property tax and utility payment counters, and the Service Canada Centre in the rotunda.
The baggage screening, conducted by corporate security staff, will be similar to what is presently conducted at City Council meetings. Visitors will now be asked to place their items on a table and open them for security staff to conduct a visual inspection. Visitors in possession of any prohibited items will be asked to remove or discard the items before being re-screened. There are no storage facilities for any items.
“The safety of all those who work, visit or do business at City facilities is the top priority of the City of Toronto,” said Dwaine Nichol, Director of Corporate Security. “These security measures strive to seek a balance between enhancing our current security measures from foreseeable threats while still maintaining an appropriate level of public access to City Hall.”
At its meeting in June, City Council approved a number of enhanced security measures for City Hall, including baggage screening in the rotunda, patron screening using walk-through metal detectors for the Council Chamber and the installation of physical security measures in City Hall’s committee rooms and the Council Chamber. The remaining enhanced security measures will be implemented later this year.