Plans for extra security at Millennium Library move forward after committee vote

Winnipeg city councillors voted to move forward with a plan to increase security measures at the city's downtown library.

A report to the community services committee recommended keeping metal detectors at the entrance to the Millennium Library in place until the lobby can be redesigned.

Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents City of Winnipeg library workers, says members support keeping the metal detectors in place, at least for now.

"Whatever it takes to ensure they're safe and they can come home safe at the end of the day," he said in an interview.

Critics, including the group Millennium for All, say research included with the report doesn't support the metal detectors.

"The data that they share in there shows that metal detectors and bag checks of this variety are highly ineffective at creating any kind of meaningful safety and they flag it as a form of security theatre," said Joe Curnow.

She would rather see the city focus on speeding up the redesign of the lobby.

The goal of that redesign is to improve sightlines and foot traffic flow, in order to support the removal of the metal detectors.

Director of community services Cindy Fernades told the committee a request for proposals for a consultant to begin work on the redesign is expected "imminently." That consultant will determine costs for the lobby redesign.

The report recommends increasing the number of community safety hosts, who are trained in de-escalation and non-violent crisis intervention skills, from two to 10. Five would be stationed in the Millennium Library, while the rest would move around to other branches.

An additional two community safety hosts would be added to support reopening the Community Connections space, along with four temporary full-time city staff to help library visitors access social services and other supports.

The report also calls for adding five security guards and providing staff with safety training.

Committee chair Coun. John Orlikow made two amendments to the report, asking the provincial government to provide two community crisis workers for Community Connections, as well as data collection on library attendance and security incident numbers.

"I'm very confident with the community host modelling, we're going to see some very strong and positive improvement in both the incidents and also in the attendance, and that will definitely assist in advocating for this in the budget in 2024," he said.

Total costs for the measures until the end of this year would be $1.3 million, which would be funded through the existing 2023 budget. 

Funding for the safety measures in future years, estimated at $2.4 million annually, would be referred to the 2024-2027 budget process.

Council will cast the final vote on the security measures and funding at its meeting on July 13.