Protestors rally against ongoing incidents of racism at Michael Garron Hospital construction site

Erin Horrocks-Pope Friday, Oct. 9, 2020

A large crowd of demonstrators protested the ongoing incidents of racism on the Michael Garron Hospital constriction site on the morning of Friday, Oct. 9. The protesters demand action from EllisDon, the construction company operating the hospital's expansion, police and all levels of government. (Erin Horrocks-Pope/Beach Beat Blog)

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A crowd of demonstrators took over the streets on the morning of Friday, Oct. 9 outside Michael Garron Hospital, protesting ongoing occurrences of anti-Black racism.

Activists and residents came together to demand action on the racism taking place on the worksite of the hospital’s expansion between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. as the workers began their shifts.

The event was organized by Community Solidarity Against Racism in Construction (CSARC) and the Toronto East Anti-hate Mobilization (TEAM) in response to multiple incidents of anti-Black racism on the construction site.

“Our message today is that racism is a public health issue,” Zahra Dhanani, a co-founding member of CSARC and one of the demonstration’s organizers, said. “Create safe workplaces where racialized people don’t have to go in and experience terror.”

Dhanani and the coalitions, CSARC and TEAM, used today’s rally to “do the Ministry of Labour’s job for them”.

While both EllisDon and MGH have publicly condemned the acts, labelling them as racially motivated incidents, according to Dhanani, the Ministry of Labour has not made any comments or taken any action.

“The Ministry of Labour is tasked with enforcing safe workplaces,” Dhanani told Beach Beat Blog in an interview on Tuesday, Oct. 07. “Nooses have gone up! What more does it take to show that this is an unsafe work environment?

On Oct. 2, anti-Black racist graffiti was found on the worksite. Two nooses were found in June, and again on Sept. 24. Nooses have been found on at least four different construction sites throughout Toronto over the past five months.

Also in attendance at Friday morning’s demonstration was Beaches-East York MPP Rima Berns-McGown who thanked everyone for coming out and putting the pressure on the construction company, EllisDon, to take more serious action against racism on their worksites.

“This will not change unless everybody keeps pushing. This will not change unless everybody uses every ounce of power they have, wherever they have it, to push for change,” said Berns-McGown.

Zahra Dahnani (left) and Beaches East-York MPP Rima Berns McGown (right).

The Toronto Police Services released a news release on Thursday, Oct. 1 addressing the nooses found at the hospital’s construction site on Sept. 24. The statement read that the Hate Crime Unit had been consulted and “at this time, it is not being treated as hate-motivated.”