City should reverse decision on security contract at Civic Complex

0 Diana kh March 07, 2026

The Editor,

I know many of you don’t think about this, but municipalities have a duty of care to ensure that all visitors/users of public recreation facilities are reasonably safe. If not, it’s an element of claim in negligence.

February 27 was the last shift of the third party, contracted security staff at the Cornwall Civic Complex, Aquatic Centre, and the Benson Centre.

What this means is no one has care or control of the building and doesn’t do regular hourly rounds, no one is observing youth/adults playing sports to ensure that everyone is safe, no one is assisting you if you have a concern about a room rental, party, or event. Security will no longer do the key exchange for ice rentals. No one will assist patrons hit in the stands by a puck.

Security won’t be there in a moment’s notice to call police or ambulance. Security won’t be there to deal with the encampment patrons who are high maintenance, especially at the Aquatic Centre. Security for public events such as Colts games, Ribfest, events in the Ed Lumley Arena, public skating? What about patrons who have been issued a “notice to trespass?” No one will be there to enforce it. I can’t even imagine what the City of Cornwall Senior Team is thinking.

Well, I only worked there 27 years and my advice is reverse your decision. There are a few senior team members still there (who are powerful) and disliked me, because I always spoke up and shared my experience. What they don’t know is I always had the City’s best interest at hand, especially when it came to liability.

The city lawyer will certainly be busy now! If anything happens (serious or not) at city buildings/and or recreation facilities, they can easily be sued! The city’s duty of care applies to “visitors” in using the premises for the purposes for which the “visitor” is invited.

Should any incident go to court, the city will lose every time as the judge will say, “You are no longer doing your due diligence to protect visitors in public facilities.” I wonder if the city’s insurance provider is aware that they are cancelling security in its facilities.

As taxpayers, we must have security in our facilities. There are so many youth causing damage, fighting etc. in facilities. Not only will staff have to do the job of three people now, they can take on security as well. Anyone doing a “Security” job or function must be licensed. I wonder if anyone considered this as well.

So here is the big one: “Claimant suffered loss or damage; claimant’s loss was caused by the municipality’s breach and claimant’s loss was a reasonably foreseeable result of the municipality’s breach.”

The Ontario Recreation Facilities Association (ORFA) is the voice (for) recreation facilities. They provide certification programs for staff and conferences on all issues including municipal liability for public facilities and events. The city is a member and perhaps they should make a call?

Who am I to say? I’m just a retired girl in recreation.