After multiple Toronto attacks have taken place over the past few years, the Ontario government is rethinking their safety and security measures that are currently in place at their government buildings. The Ontario legislature announced that Queen's Park security will be ramping up next year as they introduce a new system that will resemble airport-style security. This system is expected to be completed by next year.
This new system will enforce that all visitors to Queen's Park must pass through metal detectors before entering the building. An X-Ray scanner is also going to be installed to scan all bags that guests have on them when entering the building, according to CP24.
Construction for these new security systems are expected to take place this week and will be completed by next summer.
This new system will be an upgrade to the system that is currently at Queen's Park. Currently, visitors who are heading into Queen's Park can enter through any door of the building, where a security officer will check their government-issued ID. Once the new system is put in place, visitors will only be able to enter the building through one entrance.
The building currently does have a metal detector installed, but visitors only have to go through it if they are entering the public galleries of the chamber, which are often used to watch question periods.
According to CP24, these new changes to the security of Queen's Park are occurring due to the increase of attacks that have occurred around Toronto recently. Sergeant-at-Arms Jackie Gordon told CP24 that these incidents "bring it closer to home" and now they are seeing security change because of it.
Some of the Toronto attacks that the legislation may be hinting at include the Danforth shooting that occurred last year. Back on July 22, 2018, the shooter opened fire in the Danforth area, killing two people and injuring multiple more.
Toronto also suffered the tragic loss of ten people last year after a man plowed a rental van into a crowd of Pedestrians in North York last April.
Queen's Park will be one of the last provincial buildings to be adding updated security measures, as many other provincial legislatures already require that visitors pass through metal detectors.
This new project will be the first new addition to the building in over a hundred years and will cost the province $5.3 million.