Construction site nooses lead to arrest

Community activists say police should have laid hate-crime charge as well

Toronto police have arrested a 34-year-old Toronto man in relation to a noose found at a construction site at Michael Garron Hospital over the summer.

The arrest is the result of a hate-motivated mischief and criminal harassment task force created after a series of haterelated incidents sparked protests this year.

Police were called to the closed construction site at Coxwell Avenue and Sammon Avenue about 12:30 p.m. on June 10 after two Black workers each found a noose on their equipment, police said.

The noose is a symbol that evokes the racist history of lynching, predominantly of Black men in the U.S. South.

Police said that after a lengthy investigation, Jason Lahay was arrested Friday and charged with three counts of criminal harassment and one count of mischief to property over $5,000.

He is scheduled to appear at College Park courts at 2 p.m. on Jan. 13.

Mayor John Tory praised the police for the arrest.

But Zahra Dhanani, owner of Old’s Cool General Store, on Westlake Avenue, which was a hub for social justice activism during the protests, criticized police for not laying a hatecrime charge.

“Lynchings have a very specific message: (wanting) Black people dead,” Dhanani said. “I can’t think of something more hateful.”

Dhanani credited community advocacy for the arrest.

The group that organized out of the Old’s Cool General Store had numerous meetings to pressure politicians and government bodies to act, she said.

Dhanani added that the group has been investigating the culture of construction work.

“We uncovered a culture of racial violence, homophobic violence, gender violence in the construction industry. It’s been continued to go on with no oversight, with no accountability.” Dhanani pointed to the nooses found at an Eglinton Crosstown construction site in July as an example.

One of the unions representing construction workers at the site dismissed a union member after a noose was found at the job site.

“The police have known who that person is and they’ve done nothing,” Dhanani said.

Geoff Smith, president and CEO of EllisDon, which operates the Michael Garron Hospital construction site, thanked everyone who worked to bring the matter “hopefully, to a close.”

“We also wish to thank the victims specifically, everyone working on this project, the Michael Garron Hospital staff and the local community for their patience and for supporting each other during these difficult months,” Smith said in the statement.

“Most importantly, we recognize that a great deal more work needs to be done to eliminate these hate crimes, and the existing systemic racism within the construction industry and in Canada,” Smith said.

Nearly 75 people showed up at the “Shut Down Hate” protest in October, organized by Toronto East Anti-hate Mobilization and the Community Solidarity Against Racism in Construction.

In September, two more nooses were found at the same Michael Garron Hospital construction site.