Watch above: Students cry foul over Dollarama policy banning large groups. Sean O’Shea reports.
TORONTO – A Toronto-area Dollarama has beefed up its security, it says, to keep large groups of people out for the safety of its customers and employees.
It just so happens, the large groups of people in the Annex neighbourhood are usually students.
“That controls the inflow of large groups of individuals at peak times, which do happen to be most of the time, students because of the nearby schools,” Lyla Radmanovich, a PR professional with National Public Relations said on behalf of Dollarama.
“So what we have there is additional security, the idea is to control the flow of traffic at peak times, so down to just a handful of students at a time. It keeps our employees safe, it keeps our property safe.”
A number of students outside of the store Thursday claimed they’ve been told to wait outside while only one or two are allowed inside.
“If someone else does something, I shouldn’t have to wait because of something I didn’t do,” said Matthew Pellat, a student at Central Technical Institute. “The security guard just waits there and she’ll only let two of us in at a time. There’s like 20 of us waiting there and they’ll only let two of us in at a time.”
But another student said she understands the rule: a lot of students steal from the store, she said.
“A lot of people steal from Dollarama,” said the student, who refused to give her name. “It’s easy and simple. For students, it’s a $1 chocolate bar; they’re not going to go pay $2 somewhere else if they can just steal it from Dollarama.”
The Dollarama in question is located near Bloor Street West and Bathurst Street in the city’s Annex neighbourhood. There are a number of schools in the area including Central Technical School, St. Peter Catholic School, Palmerston Junior Public School and apartments and residences of University of Toronto students.
But Radmanovich pointed out, the policy doesn’t prohibit students, only large groups.
“It has nothing to do with the fact that they’re students, it has to do with large groups of people coming in together and that’s what we’re trying to curb,” she said.
“The fact is, in that neighbourhood in that location, the individuals who come in large groups are students.”
And Andrea Luey, a staff lawyer with Justice for Children and Youth, said her firm has been receiving complaints about similar rules for years.
“This is not a new issue. We have been hearing about this rule for years. Whether it be restrictions at a mom and pop shop, food courts in the mall, or some of these larger franchises and businesses,” she said. “It would never be right if young people are treated differently than older people just because of their age.”
A prohibition based on age however has not been tested in court, she said.
– With files from Sean O’Shea
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