THUNDER BAY — A union representing city library workers says the Thunder Bay Public Library has done nothing to ensure staff and patrons are safe, but CEO Richard Togman says, “that's just factually incorrect.”
Margaret Demillo, president of CUPE Local 3120, told Newswatch that security incidents at the two main branches of the Thunder Bay Public Library have been escalating over the past year, and her members are starting to be too afraid to go to work.
“People are tired, and they're worried about the next person who walks through the door. Are they a threat?” Demillo said.
She said that management told her they are working on plans for extra security measures, but the union have not “been actively engaged in those discussions.”
“We are finding it very frustrating,” Demillo said.
However, in an interview with Newswatch, Togman said management has informed the union of their security plans every step of the way.
“We've had sit-downs with both union Local 8718 and 3120, where we outlined over a month ago, the details of the plans. The plans to hire additional security, the upgrades to the buildings that are gonna be focused on safety infrastructure, and new floor plans and layouts. We are looking at increasing the amount of security cameras, and also a big overhaul of some of our partnerships and some of the programs that we've been running,” Togman said.
The criticism from CUPE comes after a recent violent incident between two library patrons, and an incident two weeks ago where a staff member was allegedly assaulted by a woman who was previously banned from the premises under a legal "no trespassing" order.
Demillo said the employee is now back to work, but “there are still some issues to work through.”
As for the physical altercation between the two patrons, Togman said, “it was successfully de-escalated by our staff, and no parties are seeking to press charges.”
According to the library's quarterly incident and occurrences report, which Newswatch obtained from CUPE, there was a 73 per cent increase in the overall number of safety incidents between January and March 2025 where frontline staff were affected while at work.
Almost all of the incidents were at the two downtown branches. There were 41 recorded incidents at Brodie and 34 at Waverley. County Park and Mary J.L. Black have one recorded incident at each location.
The report lists incidents pertaining to behaviour, suspension-related issues, and drug or alcohol use and paraphernalia.
Demillo said the incidents have some regular patrons at Brodie asking to pick up materials at Mary J.L. Black.
“Our core library users are very supportive of the staff, so we're lucky that way, but definitely people have expressed concern. And our stance is if the workplace isn't safe, how can patrons be safe?” Demillo said.
She said her members would like to see changes to police procedures, reevaluation of partnerships, and increased collaboration with the police.
Togman said they have hired two new security staff members “with extensive experience both in private security and as former police officers.”
“It should be a very high level of expertise. And onboarding them in terms of our policies and procedures — being the library, we're not looking to take an aggressive or intimidating approach. We need to make sure everyone feels welcome in the branches and that everyone feels safe, regardless of their backgrounds or their pasts,” Togman said.
He said part of the challenge is that the library does not have the funding to hire additional security staff.
“We don't have core funding for those positions, so that's something we're working with the city councillors who sit on our library board to try to get a date to go in front of council,” Togman said.
“We can fund these positions temporarily, essentially out of a kind of emergency reserve, but we know it's not sustainable without city support. So that's why we're hoping to work productively with the city on this and have the outcomes that everyone wants — which is safe libraries for everybody.”
