Toronto police charge man after investigation into noose found at construction site

TORONTO—Police have arrested and charged a man after an investigation into reports of nooses found at a hospital construction site in Toronto.

Toronto police say workers found two nooses when they arrived at the site in June.

They say the closed construction site at Michael Garron Hospital was not accessible to the public.

Police say a 34-year-old man from Toronto has been charged in relation to one of two nooses found. The man faces three counts of criminal harassment and one count of mischief interruption of property.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 13.

EllisDon, the generator contractor for the hospital construction project, strongly condemned the acts earlier this summer and thanked police and others Dec. 7 for their efforts to “bring this matter, hopefully, to a close.”

“We also wish to thank the victims specifically, everyone working on this project, the Michael Garron Hospital staff and the local community for their patience and for supporting each other during these difficult months,” Geoff Smith, the company’s president and CEO, said in a release. “Most importantly, we recognize that a great deal more work needs to be done to eliminate these hate crimes, and the existing systemic racism within the construction industry and in Canada. Our work is not over, it has just begun.”

The nooses found at the East York hospital site were among several hate-related incidents that surfaced throughout Toronto this summer.

— With files from On-Site staff