I was biking eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. recently and as I reached the area that was once Ontario Place I noticed it was all boarded up. There were some private sector workers in hi-vis clothing milling about, sitting, joking around, no one really doing anything that could conceivably be described as work, so I asked them what they were doing and what all this boarded up Ontario Place meant.I was at an LCBO store about a year ago and arrived just after someone looted a bunch of bottles with a gym bag...there was broken glass at the entrance and people cleaning it up. I asked what had happened and they told be about it.
So I asked what they do in those situations when someone is stealing and they said "nothing".
Their procedure is to report it to police and to head office. They are not allowed to engage. Police only show up later to review security info/video, etc. Police will only show up immediately unless someone is in danger.
Chatting with one of the clerks they say it happens often. Some are discreet and only grab a small bottle and shove it under their jacket, but some are also more extreme and literally walk in with a big duffle bag and start going up/down the isles loading it up.
Repeat offenders are typically already known to police and are usually arrested for other incidents as well.
I don't expect retail employees to engage thieves. But that's our tax dollars walking out of the store. They should put it all behind the counter at the very least and not display it openly where it can be grabbed so easily.
They said they were being paid by the people of Ontario to stand around and "try to make it look like they were working". They said the place is all boarded up because the people of Ontario are paying private companies to use it to make money for themselves.
Now I don't expect "pretend private sector workers" paid by the people of Ontario to actually do any work nor do I expect private sector corporations to actually pay market rates for 99 year leases nor pay for a $600million underweater parking garage serving their not paid for facilities, But that's our tax dollars walking out of Ontario into the pockets of pretend private sector workers and their private sector pretend employers.