Noose discovered at Eglinton Crosstown site in Leaside: Transportation minister
Posted March 11, 2021 4:36 pm.
Last Updated March 11, 2021 6:58 pm.
Ontario’s Transportation Minister says she was made aware of a disturbing discovery at a Toronto construction site on Wednesday night.
In a tweet, Caroline Mulroney said a noose was found at the Eglinton Crosstown Leaside construction site and police are investigating.
Toronto police did not confirm the discovery of a noose, but said they were called to the site just before 8 a.m. Thursday for a “suspicious incident.” They said the investigation is in the very early stages and officers are gathering information.
“Once investigators are in a position to share details an update will be made available. In terms of the ‘suspicious’ element, we are still firming up the facts,” they said in a statement to CityNews.
Mulroney added in her tweet that “racism and hate, in any shape or form, will not be tolerated in Ontario.”
She also said the province is working with Metrolinx regarding the matter.
I’ve been made aware that a noose was found at the Eglinton Crosstown Leaside construction site last night.
Racism and hate, in any shape or form, will not be tolerated in Ontario. We are working with @Metrolinx and the @TorontoPolice are investigating.
— Caroline Mulroney (@C_Mulroney) March 11, 2021
Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster echoed Mulroney’s sentiments in a statement, reiterating a zero tolerance policy for racism and bigotry.
“When the person, or people, who carried out this despicable act are identified, they will be banned from working on any present or future Metrolinx projects,” he said.
He added that Crosslinx — the consortium building the Eglinton Crosstown line — have assured him that they are “taking this incident very seriously and are fully cooperating with the police investigation.”
Crosslink spokeswoman Kristen Jenkins also condemned what she called a “deplorable act,” saying those responsible will be held accountable.
“Crosslinx is disgusted that this racist act happened on one of our sites. Crosslinx has zero tolerance for racism and any kind of discrimination,” she said in a statement.
RELATED: Construction firms highlight need to tackle systemic racism in their industry
This is the second time a noose has been found on a Crosstown site. The first was last July where Fairbank Station is being built near Dufferin and Eglinton. A construction worked was fired and removed from his union in connection with that incident.
In a separate incident, two nooses were also found on a job site at Michael Garron hospital, and one each in Regent Park and in the city’s downtown core.
Police made an arrest connected to the hate crime on the Michael Garron hospital construction site.
Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins added that the incident is disappointing given that the construction industry has made a lot of progress since last year.
“They signed pledges and they’ve been working really hard … people are taking it very seriously, so this was very sad that this happened again,” she said. “But I think it just encourages us to all continue to work as hard as we can to root out this kind of hate.”
