CNE assures safety is a 'top priority' after concerns raised ahead of opening
As the CNE readies to open this Friday, one Toronto MPP is expressing concerns about safety possibly being compromised at the 18-day fair due to ride and equipment inspectors being on strike.
On July 21, 170 inspectors with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) went on strike after contract negotiations between their employer and their union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), broke down.
Since then, organizers of fairs, festivals, and other large events, like the CNE, have had to bring in outside inspectors and consultants to ensure their rides and equipment are in compliance with all safety regulations.
On Saturday morning, Toronto Centre MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the situation.
Speaking with CP24 Sunday morning, Wong-Tam said the absence of dedicated TSSA safety inspectors checking rides and other equipment at the upcoming CNE amounts to “less duty of care.”
The MPP said due to the labour disruption, the operator of Canada’s largest annual event has been forced to use consultants and third-party contractors to carry out these important safety inspections.
“When we are going to be compromising public safety, we just really can’t take any chances,” said Wong-Tam said.
“The CNE, of course, we all love this amusement park. It is a major attraction for the city of TO, but we want to make sure that people are safe.”
Wong-Tam said under the present arrangement is there no guarantee that safety inspections will be done with the same level of diligence. To illustrate her point, the Toronto MPP pointed to an Aug. 5 incident involving a ride at the Campbellford Fair, which they said injured three children.
Wong-Tam said organizers of that event would have issued the “same type of assurances to members of the public.”
In the end, Wong-Tam said the goal is to bring both sides “back to the table” and reach a contract agreement so TSSA’s safety inspectors get back to work as soon as possible.
The CNE, meanwhile, is assuring the public that it will continue to maintain the “highest safety standards in the industry,” despite safety inspectors being on strike.
Darrell Brown, The CNE’s CEO, said public safety is a “top priority,” calling Wong-Tam’s assertion that safety can’t be guaranteed “misguided.”
“We do not believe that there are any safety issues and would challenge what Ms. Wong-Tam is suggesting,” he said during a Sunday afternoon interview with CP24.
In a statement, Brown said after a two-year pandemic hiatus the CNE has been “vigilantly preparing for the return of the Fair to ensure that any potential labour disruption would not significantly impact our operations nor compromise the safety of our staff, vendors and patrons.”
“Each year the rides and food installations at the CNE are inspected by regulatory authorities prior to and during all 18-days of the Fair. TSSA management have taken proactive measures including travelling to other Fair sites to conduct inspections in advance of the equipment’s arrival at the CNE,” he noted, adding the CNE also “dedicates a significant amount of resources to deploy its own third-party safety consultants and certified engineers to ensure that all rides and installations at the event exceed safety standards.”
“We want to assure our patrons that the CNE is safe; irrespective of the ongoing labour dispute between TSSA and OPSEU,” he said.
Like Wong-Tam, Brown also hopes both sides will sit down soon and reach a contract agreement “so that the TSSA can return to full staff to facilitate its role in safeguarding the industry."
Despite the job action, TSSA said, “comprehensive plans are in place for us to deliver on our safety mandate during the strike.”
“Rest assured that any amusement device in operation with a valid TSSA authorization has had its required annual inspection,” the governing body said in a July 29 tweet.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.