Calgary officials support CUTA transit safety recommendations to curb violence

The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) has released a list of recommendations following a surge in violent incidents on public transit systems across the country.

The association shared 27 recommendations with the public this week, asking the different levels of government to work together and prioritize the safety of staff members and transit riders.

"They've made some good recommendations, and I think calling out all levels of government to assist in the funding is essential," said Mike Mahar, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada local 583 in Calgary.

While Mahar appreciates the recommendations, he'd like to see other industry players and safety experts get directly involved.

"I'm equally as concerned about public safety as they are because it directly relates to the safety of our members and those operating the system," he said. "It's a good start but it … needs to be developed on a bigger scale."

According to Mahar, the number of violent attacks in the Calgary transit system has increased over the years and many incidents aren't reported to the police for multiple reasons.

"That's a shame that the system has gotten to the point where those victims don't feel that there's a benefit for reporting them unless it's … been to the point where they've been … injured and going to cause them to miss work," Mahar said.

Will Fossen, deputy chief of Calgary Transit Public Safety and Enforcement, believes that improving safety measures and reducing violence is possible only if "underlying issues" like poverty, drug addiction and homelessness are addressed.

"It's not a transit issue," Fossen said. "This is a citywide issue of incidents that are happening across … really across the country."

'We're in a very difficult spot'

Fossen added that his team has previously dealt with incidents involving verbal abuse against transit staff, particularly drivers.

"We have laid charges against individuals for uttering threats," he said.

According to Coun. Jennifer Wyness, the problem is more complex than it seems.

"We're in a very difficult spot where we can't really enforce our way out of this," she said. 

The councillor for Ward 2 added that many individuals are arrested "over and over again" and are released even before the paperwork is finished.

Wyness says releasing high-risk offenders without the right intervention is especially worrisome.

"That person needs a different level of support because they … for some reason, thought it was acceptable to shoot somebody on a transit system. That's not acceptable behaviour," Wyness said. 

According to the councillor, making mental health care more accessible is a step in the right direction.

"Our current structure is not meeting the needs of Canadians," Wyness said. "So we need to start thinking. We need to really work out what is the problem we're trying to solve."

CUTA established a transit safety task force in June 2022, working with several Canadian transit agencies, including Calgary Transit, TransLink in Metro Vancouver and Edmonton Transit Service. The goal is to beef up security measures across Canada.

Its latest recommendations cover several topics, including but not limited to improving overall transit safety, hiring more security personnel, targeting homelessness and substance abuse, and de-escalation training for transit staff.

The report also recommends changing subsection 269.01 of the Criminal Code to "strengthen penalties for assault of all transit workers" instead of focusing only on transit operators.

Mahar said his team played a crucial role in 2015 when section 269.01 was first introduced in the Criminal Code with overwhelming support from all the parties.

"Since that time, it's been rarely used," Mahar said.

He thinks the code needs to be brought up more often.

"Changing the Criminal Code if it's … not used has zero effect as far as a deterrent [is concerned]."