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
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.