At the corner of Main Street and Doncaster Avenue in East York, Lisa Dunn feels right at home.
“Nice to see you, sweetie!” yells Dunn to a woman who recognized her walking down the sidewalk.
“Aren’t you usually right here?” the lady responded, pointing to the intersection.
For three years, Dunn worked at the busy intersection near Secord Elementary School as a crossing guard.
Donning her orange reflective vest and armed with her hand-held stop sign, the 56-year-old made it her mission to brighten people’s days.
“I was super friendly — always greeted the kids with a ‘Good morning’ and ‘How is your day?'” said Dunn, holding dozens of hand-drawn cards and mementos gifted to her by children over the years.
“It was more than just a job for me.”
Now, Dunn’s current employment state moves her to tears.
The single mother to a 20-year-old has lost her job. As rent day approaches, she worries about having to go back to the welfare system she worked so hard to get off.
In May, Dunn claims an area resident filed a complaint because the crossing guard was feeding birds and squirrels.
Feeding wildlife is not permitted in Toronto, under the Animals Bylaw. Dunn said her employer had given her a warning about it before.
“They phoned and asked if I was feeding wildlife, and if I knew that birds would be there. … That’s all they needed to know, and then I was terminated,” Dunn said.
“I’m heartbroken. I love my community, I love my job.”
Dunn’s employer, Synergy Protection Group Inc., declined to be interviewed by Global News, saying it cannot disclose specific details about employment matters.
In a statement, Kim Hefferman, director of the crossing guard service said, “Synergy is a fair and equitable employer…”
“Termination of employment is a last resort when an employee has been given corrective guidance and opportunities to improve or comply with company policies and wilfuly continues along the same course of action,” the statement continued.
Support from community builds
After news of Dunn’s termination broke, it caught the attention of a local parent.
Christopher Siriska and his daughter Audrey, who goes to Secord, have grown attached to Dunn over the years.
“Even if you’ve had a rough day with your kid in the morning, you walk by Lisa’s corner and your kid is smiling before she gets to the school that’s a half block away,” said Siriska, calling Dunn a “ray of light.”
“Lisa would take a bullet for these kids,” said Jim Clayton, another parent whose eighth-grader is “outraged” that Dunn was let go.
Believing that others would be equally as upset, Siriska launched an online petition in mid-June calling for Dunn to be reinstated.
By Thursday evening, the petition had surpassed 500 signatures.
No avenue to appeal
Hefferman told Global News that there is no internal appeal process at Synergy for terminated employees, as it’s a non-unionized environment. Those who feel like they were unjustly terminated can reach out to Ministry of Labour or seek legal advice, she said.
Crossing guards are employed by external companies, not by the City of Toronto, spokesperson Laura McQuillan wrote over email.
“While we are not privy to staffing decisions made by the external supplier, the City has performance requirements for school crossing guards, including their conduct, which requires compliance with all laws. We expect that children’s safety is the school crossing guards’ number one priority at all times,” she wrote.
Back at Main and Doncaster, Dunn beams as she sifts through the keepsakes she’s gathered from children over the years.
As the single mom struggles to stay financially afloat while still looking for another job, the colourful doodles have now become a reminder of the legacy she leaves behind, and the importance of the essential service she and her fellow crossing guards provide.
“It really was out of the passion of my heart,” she said.
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