Canada Day 2017 in Ottawa

[phil235]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Many have already commented that the general public was not in a secure situation downtown and the security line-ups themselves were a security concern.

I believe that the security experts are human and there were errors made in the way it was organized. One thing that has become abundantly obvious is that there was poor coordination between the city and the feds on handling security on the Hill and elsewhere.

Gotta go with kwoldtimer on this one. Yes, many people have made comments, but that doesn't mean that those comments are of the informed variety.

I think that there are legitimate gripes about how security on the Hill was handled. Not so much with security elsewhere. There was a huge police presence everywhere downtown, and I haven't seen anything to suggest that they did anything other than strike a good balance between providing security and letting people enjoy the day.

Comments on long lines and no amenities in the secure zone I can buy. But I'm not sure how anyone with no expertise in security and no knowledge of the extent of the measures that were in place can make a useful comment on the quality of the security elsewhere.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by phil235

Gotta go with kwoldtimer on this one. Yes, many people have made comments, but that doesn't mean that those comments are of the informed variety.

I think that there are legitimate gripes about how security on the Hill was handled. Not so much with security elsewhere. There was a huge police presence everywhere downtown, and I haven't seen anything to suggest that they did anything other than strike a good balance between providing security and letting people enjoy the day.

Comments on long lines and no amenities in the secure zone I can buy. But I'm not sure how anyone with no expertise in security and no knowledge of the extent of the measures that were in place can make a useful comment on the quality of the security elsewhere.

Did I really suggest that the general public should determine security policy? All I was suggesting is that the security people have to pay attention to the public's complaints about what amounts to very poor service.

[daud]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Did I really suggest that the general public should determine security policy? All I was suggesting is that the security people have to pay attention to the public's complaints about what amounts to very poor service.

It would not have taken an expert to tell you that plopping a giant screen beside a security lineup at wellington/elgin would cause a disaster for pedestrian flow.

Having been to Canada day since I was a kid, there isn't a busier spot than that stretch between rideau and parliament hill. Why they would install security check AND a screen at this point where stationary people would linger, is beyond me.

I walked up elgin that day and hit a wall of people at queen. Nobody could move. A police friend working that area told me (in his words) that it was a "gong show".

We failed so miserably on an event day we've managed so well for 50 years. Yes, people still partied, but it wasn't the same at all. I never even saw wellington or rideau.

I am but one in tens of thousands that was really disappointed with the setup. If they say they are doing security checks next year, I won't even go downtown-plain and simple. When we got the feds/RCMP involved in security, it ruined everything. Their mandate is simple-secure the hill and no incidents. I doubt they put much thought into the rest of it-like how does a child wait in line for 4 hours without going pee.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by daud

It would not have taken an expert to tell you that plopping a giant screen beside a security lineup at wellington/elgin would cause a disaster for pedestrian flow.

Having been to Canada day since I was a kid, there isn't a busier spot than that stretch between rideau and parliament hill. Why they would install security check AND a screen at this point where stationary people would linger, is beyond me.

I walked up elgin that day and hit a wall of people at queen. Nobody could move. A police friend working that area told me (in his words) that it was a "gong show".

We failed so miserably on an event day we've managed so well for 50 years. Yes, people still partied, but it wasn't the same at all. I never even saw wellington or rideau.

I am but one in tens of thousands that was really disappointed with the setup. If they say they are doing security checks next year, I won't even go downtown-plain and simple. When we got the feds/RCMP involved in security, it ruined everything. Their mandate is simple-secure the hill and no incidents. I doubt they put much thought into the rest of it-like how does a child wait in line for 4 hours without going pee.

What is really sad is that this is a once in 50 year event and there was national build up. Come to Ottawa for something special. It was only special in a bad way and I am not talking about the weather that was beyond anybody's control.

I have nothing against having additional security under the circumstances, but it needed to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Problems were inevitable as soon as we saw the security fencing going up along Wellington Street. Also, as soon as almost all food vendors were outside security. My cousin forewarned me that was happening. Also, when security could only process 10,000 people per hour. The arithmetic did not work when capacity was 35,000 on the Hill and we were eliminating room for thousands more on Wellington Street.

I will also say that poor organization was also demonstrated when another cousin told me that they had to clear out of their offices 2 days in advance because access to their office building had become impossible.

[BlueJay]

This topic should be closed. only certain political comments were deleted while others are allowed on here. Lets keep this great forum open to all opinions.

[Guy Incognito]

I just want to acknowledge that we are having this discussion on stolen indigenous land and therefore we should all be very ashamed of ourselves

[Buggys]

Originally Posted by Guy Incognito

I just want to acknowledge that we are having this discussion on stolen indigenous land and therefore we should all be very ashamed of ourselves

Some of our ancestors should be ashamed of themselves, but us folks in the present generally have not gone back in time to steal indigenous land! If time travel is really possible, it must be a well kept secret right now!

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Guy Incognito

I just want to acknowledge that we are having this discussion on stolen indigenous land and therefore we should all be very ashamed of ourselves

I guess we should all be ashamed that we even exist.

Sorry, we need to live in current realities. We need to look to a better tomorrow working together and not obsess about things that cannot be undone. Living is a state of perpetual shame will not bring a better tomorrow.

[waterloowarrior]

(FYI Bandage and Guy Incognito are both Fatty McButterpants troll accounts)