Yorkdale mall wants the public to know that everyone is welcome, “including the construction crews working on our expansion,” and that, “at no time ever were our workers restricted from Yorkdale.”

The shopping centre posted the message to Facebook Wednesday “to clear up some confusion about whether construction workers are allowed inside Yorkdale.”

That “confusion” came last week after construction company EllisDon posted a sign in the food court that said, “No workers are allowed inside the mall during construction work hours.”

“The food court or anywhere else in the mall is not permitted anymore,” the sign went on to say. “If workers are caught inside the mall they will be removed and dealt with accordingly.”

People who saw a photo of the sign circulating on social media websites called the move “elitist” and an “attack on blue-collar workers.”

Claire Santamaria, general manager of Yorkdale, tells CTVNews.ca that “there was confusion originating from the company that manages the construction workers,” and that “signs that were posted last week were inaccurate and removed the same day.”

Santamaria says the confusion came as construction crews were “asked to remove any contaminated gear (grease, tar, mud) before coming in to Yorkdale for safety reasons.”

Yorkdale has made an elevator available to workers near a place where they can park their vehicles to change out of their footwear and store it before entering the mall, the Facebook post explained. A Yorkdale spokesperson says that plan was already in the works when the confusing signs were erroneously posted.