Toronto protest targets engineering firm hired by Ontario to work on bike lane removal

With Ontario poised to begin demolishing bike lanes in Toronto within days, advocacy groups are trying to pressure the engineering firm taking on part of the work to rip up its provincial contract. 

On Tuesday morning, a group of protesters gathered at the offices of Stantec Consulting Ltd., the engineering firm hired by the province to undertake a portion of the bike lane removal work. 

Demonstrators entered the building and presented Stantec with their demand to cancel the contract, which prompted the company to call the police, said Marcel Jansen, a member of Fridays for Future Toronto, one of the groups behind the protest. 

Alex Lam, outreach co-ordinator for the same group, said they were one of two people were briefly detained by police and issued a $65 ticket — a price they say is well worth it. 

"We're talking about people's lives here," Lam said. "I think this action was good for highlighting this terrible thing that Stantec is doing. Agreeing to rip out bike lanes, put people at risk, increase congestion, increase emissions." 

The protest follows a similar campaign launched by advocacy group Cycle Toronto, which is urging people to email Stantec to demand they stop working on the plan. 

WATCH | Protesters rally against plan to remove Toronto bike lanes: 

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Stantec wrote that they "respect the right of community to voice their opinions through peaceful protest."

"Moreover, we also appreciate that our team members — also local Toronto residents — were able to safely enter their workplace," said Colin Nekolaichuk, a public relations manager for Stantec. 

The statement went on to say Stantec is working on developing technical drawings for "a small section" of the bike corridors, representing about 1.5 kilometres in total. After those drawings are complete, the firm will no longer be involved, Nekolaichuk said. 

Toronto City Manager Paul Johnson spoke to CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday about Ontario's plan — billed repeatedly by the province in the leadup to last month's election as necessary to reduce congestion. 

"This is their operation, this is their legislation," Johnson said.  

"The city will comply with this, but I just want to assure everybody that the cycling program in Toronto is strong. We are committed to cycling as an important mode of transportation."  

Last week, an Ontario court denied an injunction request from a group of cyclists, including Cycle Toronto, hoping to press pause on removal work until after their court challenge is heard in mid-April.