To the editor:
I think it's time 24-hour Mac's Convenience Stores installed counter-barriers to protect their lone midnight employees from injury during robberies.
Some late-night retailers are already leading the way.
For example, there is a Mac’s on Red River Road across the street from a 24-hour Shell station. To protect their lone midnight employee from physical violence during late-night robberies Shell has taken the initiative to install a counter-barrier inside of their store. Alternatively, Mac’s refuses to install barriers, leaving their vulnerable employee exposed to the risks inherent in this industry.
When two similar late-night retailer operations conduct independent risk assessments, we expect both to implement similar safety measures as a result. However, this is not the case. These two employees can see each other across the street during their midnight shifts, and it disturbs me to know this gross disparity is commonplace across Ontario.
Shell sets a precedent for late-night retailer safety in our city and I challenge Mac’s to take this opportunity to meet their standard.
I am the first one to commend Mac's for investing heavily in safety and security, implementing crime deterrence features and taking crime prevention seriously, but despite all of their efforts their employees continue to experience violence in the workplace.
This is a regular occurrence, a running joke in our city. This safety concern has not been adequately addressed and it is only a matter of time before someone loses their life. I would like to see our municipality's intergovernmental liaison advocate for a better standard of protection for late-night retail employees here in Thunder Bay, and across Ontario.
A review of the regulations within the Occupational Health & Safety Act is necessary. Ontario does not currently have a specific "working alone" regulation, or prescriptive regulations for late-night retailers. This is unacceptable. Thunder Bay Mac's locations have experienced by far Mac's highest rate of crime in Ontario.
If anything is ever going to change, I think it must start here, in our city. We must be the change we want to see in the world.
Kyla Turner,
Thunder Bay
