The police, Eaton's and other stakeholders tried to keep the first lady of Toronto, Marilyn Lastman arrest for theft silent and out of the publicdomain but thankfully this case was made public by the very Mayor who struggled to keep it hidden from the public. All the excuses and explanations that Lastman did not receive preferential treatment does not hold under serious public scrutiny. A different standard of treatment was applied in comparison to how a black employee or customer would have have been treated for a lesser infraction at Eaton's. I remember Megiah Turner, a 61 year old black employee of Eaton's who had to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission because she was harassed, discriminated against and ultimately fired from Eaton's because of a miscommunication regarding selling an item at a discounted price to a customer. This employee who had given over 15 years of service to Eaton's was shown the door over a perceived mistake by offering a customer a discount on astained/soiled merchandise. I also remember St. Clair Illidge, a young black employee of Eaton's who was arrested, charged and terminated for fraud because he personally rang inthe purchase of a pair of shoes on his employee card. St. Clair Illidge was not only accused of fraud by Eaton's; he was also taken to court, where the judge in his infinite wisdom dismissed the case. These forms of harassment of hard working employees and black customers show that a different standard is applied based on race, color, ancestry and socio-economic status. I was also falsely accused of theft at Eaton's and treated like a criminal; followed, watched, interrogated, searched, and had a note written calling me a suspicious "black male" while I was on company business at Eaton's. The Ontario Human Rights Commission staff and investigating officer concluded that the subject-matter of my complaint merits a hearing before a Board of Inquiry. It is now up to the Commissioners to accept this recommendation and forward it to the Minister.I also remember Herman Butler, a black employee of Eaton's who also have a complaint currently being investigated by the Ontario Human Rights Commission alleging discrimination at Eaton's. I still remember the many racial minority employees and the Operations Manager who were terminated on January 22,1993. Many of these employees were falsely arrested and charged. I was told that a lot of racist comments were directed at the employees during their false arrest and detention. Some of these employees were rehired to allow the company to escape liability; but the rehired employees were eventually laid off. The Operations Manager was paid off after he filed a high six figure lawsuit against Eaton's and threatened to make public evidence of racism that the company fostered and encouraged during his tenure at Eaton's.

This brings me to the longstanding concern regarding how racial minorities are treated when they shop and/or work in the same retail establishments that give the "kids glove" treatment to shoppers who are shoplifting while rich or powerful.

Shopping or working while black at Eaton's has and still continues to be a major health, safety and human rights hazard for many black Canadians. Eaton's have long been held in disrepute for targeting and harassing racial minority employees and customers as criminally prone and "suspicious." This mindset allows their senior managers and supervisors to conduct overmonitoring and oversupervision of employees and the questioning of racial minority customers and employees under the pretext of "customer service". It was also at Eaton's that a senior security supervisor admitted to writing a note that targeted specific racial groups for discrimination on the advice of her managers. This company also had a "False Arrestand Misconduct Procedures Manual" that states that its security staff harassed employees and customers "just because we didn't like the way he was dressed."This gross violation of the human rights of many law abiding consumers and employees is an outrage. While some of us have resorted to the Ontario Human Rights Commission or the Courts to resolve this longstanding disrespect which manifests itself as consumer racism, many are still hurting from the experience of being harassed and discriminated against and the inaction or excessive delay of the adjudicative and administrative agencies responsible for enforcing human rights in Ontario.

Mel Lastman has power and is secure in the knowledge of his standing to the extent that he threatened harm on a reporter who was aware of his wife's theft of merchandise at Eaton's. Lastman's threat is viewed by some as intimidation into silencing talk about the incident of his wife being arrested for shoplifting from Eaton's.Lastman's outburstwas and still is inexcusable. He ought to know that uttering threats of the kind he is alleged to have made is an offence under the Criminal Code.

Mr. Lastman might also want to talk to me or other young black men who were unjustly targeted by Eaton's. Then he will get a real lesson in what it feels like to have your dignity and self respect degraded along with the long, painful wait for the Ontario Human Rights Commission or the Courts to redress the injustice of consumer racism at Eaton's and other Toronto businesses.

Since, Eaton's is the same company that targets specific racial minority groups and have a widely known policy that blacks and other minorities are "suspicious", (as noted in a handwritten memo by a senior asset management investigator at Eaton's), I hope that adequate redress including apologies and compensation for pain and suffering will be provided to all law abiding blacks and other visible minorities who faced false arrest and other forms of punitive measures for working and shopping while black at Eaton's.

We sure learn about double standards and preferential treatment that exists for people in high places of our society that represents itself to the world as fair and racially harmonious.

Related Links

	Eatons Human Rights cases
	Immigrants and Criminality
	Children's Perceptions of Race and Class in Media
	Media Stereotypes and the Perpetuation of Racism in Canada
	Ethnicity, Racism and the Media

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Created on May 12, 1999. Updated by Gary Pieters on July 10, 2001. Copyright © 1996-2004. All Rights Reserved.

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