Toronto police are investigating after a noose was found at another Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction site.
A police spokesperson told Global News officers were called to the Leaside station construction site, located at the corner of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East, at around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday after a worker found the noose.
The spokesperson said staff took pictures of the noose and it was subsequently removed.
They said officers went to the site on Thursday to take statements from workers.
Kristin Jenkins, a spokesperson for Crosslinx — the consortium that’s building the Eglinton Crosstown line, confirmed the discovery of the noose.
“Crosslinx is disgusted that this racist act happened on one of our sites. Crosslinx has zero tolerance for racism and any kind of discrimination,” she said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“A police investigation is underway. The person, or people, responsible will be held accountable for this deplorable act.”
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Phil Verster, the CEO of Metrolinx — the provincial transit authority contracting Crosslinx, said the consortium is taking the incident seriously and that racism won’t be tolerated.
“Whether it’s inside an office, at a station or at a construction site we fully expect all of our employees and contractors to create safe and inclusive spaces – and to treat each other with respect — no exceptions,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
“When the person, or people, who carried out this despicable act are identified, they will be banned from working on any present or future Metrolinx projects.”
Wednesday’s incident comes months after a noose was found at another Eglinton Crosstown LRT site and other unrelated construction projects across Toronto.
A noose was found at the Fairbank station construction site in July. A construction union reported one of its members resigned amid an investigation into that incident.
In 2020, nooses were also found at Michael Garron Hospital, a condo project in Regent Park and a tower construction site in the financial district.
The incidents and racial discrimination in Canada’s construction industry sparked the creation of a new not-for-profit organization, the Afro-Canadian Contractors Association, and it is partly aimed at combatting anti-Black racism.
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