An employee at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is “no longer employed” after the hospital said it conducted an investigation into a recent video circulating online that appears to show a staff member using “racist language toward a fellow passenger on public transit.”
In a statement posted Thursday on X, the hospital on Bayview Avenue in North York said it “recognize(s) the harm this incident has caused, especially for our Black colleagues, patients, physicians, learners, volunteers and supporters.”
“This behaviour is inconsistent with our values, and we remain committed to taking meaningful action to create and maintain an environment where every member of our community is treated with dignity and respect,” it said.
Sunnybrook has not confirmed which video they are specifically referring to.
On Wednesday, the hospital said it is “aware” of a video that is circulating online that “appears to show an individual wearing apparel bearing our organization’s name using racist language toward another person.”
“(We are) committed to building an equitable and inclusive environment for our patients and all who work, learn and live within our community. The language and behaviour in the video is unacceptable and inconsistent with this commitment and our values,” Sunnybrook said.
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Customer safety ‘paramount’: TTC
The TTC said it doesn’t have any details regarding the time, date, or location of this incident.
However, the transit network stressed in a statement to CP24 that the “safety of our customers and employees is paramount.”
“Everyone riding the TTC should both feel safe and be safe while on our system,” spokesperson Stuart Green wrote in an email.
“Like any right-thinking person, we are appalled by the use of racist language and by displays of aggressive, disrespectful, and discourteous behaviour on our system. Our advice to people witnessing this kind of incident is to report it immediately to TTC staff so it can be addressed and de-escalated.”
Toronto police, meanwhile, told CP24 they “can’t confirm or comment on any video that we didn’t post.”
A media officer did say that it “appears” they have not received any reports regarding any “TTC-related baby stroller incidents” on Oct. 13, the day the video was posted.
