The 140th Canadian National Exhibition opened Friday morning amid labour controversy as union members representing locked-out stagehands shouted over the premier and mayor’s remarks at the opening ceremonies.

The voices of picketing union members could be heard nearby as Mayor John Tory acknowledged the protest ahead of the opening. Even though visitors may have to cross the picket lines, he told the crowd, “Many, many families are going to come down here and have a good time.”

“I just thank God we live in a country where people can come and express their views,” he later told reporters, adding he knows the union “would agree with me that we all want to make sure the 140th CNE is very successful.”

At one point in the ceremony, a large inflatable rat puppet — named “Scabby” by the locked-out union members — could be seen rising above the backdrop.

About 400 workers, represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union, were locked out by the Exhibition Place board of governors on July 20, after months of bargaining.

Picketers stretched along Strachan Ave. Friday, carrying signs and shouting into megaphones. Scabby and another puppet of a grotesque man’s face and hands joined them on the picket line.

“We’re out here trying to get our message to those who are coming to the CNE that this kind of attack on Toronto workers in not acceptable,” said IATSE Local 58 president Justin Antheunis.

“And that the City of Toronto needs to get back to the table and negotiate it so that workers who have been doing the CNE forever can come back and do that work that they love to do.”

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Over 200 locked-out workers were at the picket line Friday. They did not block Ex attendees from crossing the picket line.

Many carried signs saying “don’t take away our jobs,” “we won’t entertain bad negotiations,” “stop corporate takeover of Ex Place” and “locked out didn’t walk out.”

The board has said it wants to update the workers’ contract to reflect the “highly competitive” marketplace and that it thinks the dispute should be settled at the bargaining table rather than in arbitration like the union has suggested.

The union says the city flew in workers from Quebec and Alberta to do their members’ jobs at the CNE.

“This city council should be about protecting Toronto jobs, not necessarily trying to make a profit on the backs of Toronto workers,” Antheunis said.

The union has said the board refuses to bargain in good faith and that its workers will continue to picket through the duration of the CNE if the dispute isn’t resolved.

“I’m feeling angry, I’m feeling scared, I’m feeling frustrated ... because this is where I used to work,” stagehand Pierre Quinn said at the picket line.

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Quinn said he’s angry about what is being done, “and how it’s being done, and by whom it’s being done.”

CNE attendee George Mareczko said the locked-out workers “have the right to assemble and voice their demands and concerns. It’s not that they walked off the job, they were basically told to get out, so I don’t mind them doing that at all.”

He said that going through the Ex, “you can’t help but notice” the picketers.

“They picked a good place for it … they’re on the sidewalk, I don’t see them going out, spilling out onto the road,” Mareczko said. “And their comments that they’re making, to get the crowd going, are in their eyes, true to fact. So there’s nothing there that’s inciting any kind of trouble.

The Ex is known as a showcase for extravagant fast food trends. This year’s Ex features a $100 burger covered in 24-karat gold, “fit for a king.” The burger includes a five-ounce patty with maple bacon, peameal bacon, cheddar, onion rings, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato and chipotle mayo in an edible gold bun.

Other offerings include cotton candy-and-ice cream burritos, deep-fried Ferrero Rocher chocolates and another gilded treat: a gold-covered ice cream bar.

“Everyone will be taking photos of gold,” Instagrammer Fred Bkayleh told the Star’s Evelyn Kwong.

“Selling hamburgers for $100 with gold in them and then locking out workers, I don’t see irony, it’s ridiculous, really,” Quinn said.

The CNE, Canada’s largest annual community event, expects to attract 1.6 million people over 18 days.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Premier Doug Ford also announced plans to rejuvenate Ontario Place, the nearby site of a former waterfront theme park.

“Ontario Place was spectacular,” he said. “We’ll bring it back to life.”

Correction — Aug. 17, 2018: This article has been edited from an earlier version that incorrectly said the CNE’s board of governors had locked out the union. It was, in fact, the board of governors for Exhibition Place that did so.

With files from the Canadian Press, Samantha Beattie, Inori Roy and Evelyn Kwong

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