Police say they’re investigating “several incidents” that happened in front of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital after a demonstration there that has drawn sharp criticism from both the premier and the prime minister.
Demonstrators marched in Toronto Monday evening and at one point they were seen outside Mount Sinai Hospital, though protest organizers say the hospital wasn’t targeted.
Some were even seen climbing onto the building, with at least one waving a Palestinian flag.
A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service said in an email to Global News that “interfering with the operations of a hospital is not acceptable.”
“The Toronto Police Service is investigating several incidents that occurred in front of Mount Sinai Hospital and along the demonstration route,” the spokesperson said.
“As we have said before, officers use their discretion during large crowd demonstrations and even if arrests are not deemed safe to make at the time, investigations will continue and charges can be laid at a later date.”
Toronto police will have an increased presence along hospital row in the downtown core “to ensure that essential hospital services and emergency routes remain accessible,” the spokesperson added.
Anyone who witnessed what happened on Monday or experienced harassment was asked to contact police.
In a post on X, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said that the hospital was established in the 1920s by Jews “against the backdrop of antisemitism.”
“Last night, it was the target of protesters chanting for violence and terror against Jews,” the organization said.
“This was a deliberate attempt to intimidate not only the Jewish community, but also patients and staff at a hospital that serves people of all backgrounds. Completely reprehensible and shameful.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the demonstration in a post on X, calling it “reprehensible.”
“Hospitals are places for treatment and care, not protests and intimidation,” Trudeau said.
“I strongly condemn this display of antisemitism. In Toronto and across Canada, we stand with Jewish communities against this hate.”
In late 2021, amendments to the Criminal Code received Royal Assent, strengthening laws limiting protesting at health facilities
Premier Doug Ford noted that when asked about the demonstration at a press conference Tuesday morning.
“Folks, get some decency. Have common sense,” Ford said.
“These hospitals are there to save lives….
“Do not break the law, because that’s exactly what happened…. Even without the law, you have to have an ounce of decency not to do this.”
Ford said regardless of what someone is protesting, it should not take place at a hospital.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also condemned what happened, calling it “unacceptable.”
“Targeting Jewish institutions is antisemitic and hate has no place in our city,” Chow said.
Hospital wasn’t targeted, protest organizers say
In a statement, the organizers of the protest said the hospital was not targeted and was one of the “many notable buildings and monuments” passed along the demonstration route.
They said some attendees climbed structures and scaffolding to raise the Palestinian flag “at various points along the way: none of which were targeted.”
“We condemn the lies espoused by Canadian politicians which incorrectly portray the protest as targeting the hospital, and assert that this dishonest portrayal is consistent with the months-long rhetoric of Canadian politicians who have engaged in anti-Palestinian racism, vilifying the tens of thousands of protestors demanding a ceasefire and mischaracterizing them as antisemitic,” the statement said in part, while calling on politicians and media to “immediately retract and rectify their slanderous stories.”