Novotel residents claim actions taken by staff stifling community organizing efforts

Gru is photographed in Toronto, on Tuesday June 1, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)

Residents of a downtown shelter hotel are speaking out after they say actions taken by staff were detrimental to ongoing community organizing efforts.

Gru, who chose not to include his surname, moved into Novotel, a downtown shelter hotel located at 45 The Esplanade, from the Trinity Bellwoods Park encampment in 2021.

Since early last year, he’s been an active voice of Toronto’s homeless community, recently using Novotel as his homebase for community organization.

“The residents of the Novotel [are] trying to build some collective power so that we can put some pressure on the service provider in an effort to improve conditions,” Gru told CTV News Toronto during a phone interview.

Within those efforts, Gru keeps track of daily city shelter data, attends the monthly Toronto memorial for homeless deaths, provides support during encampment clearings and uses his voice as one of many advocating for better living conditions for the city’s homeless community.

Last week, Gru said he was present supporting a resident named Dredz Green as shelter staff attempted to issue Green a service restriction for allegedly participating in prohibited activities.

“Dredz has been one of the front voices in organizing work done at Novotel,” he said.

Gru recorded the interaction, a precaution he often takes, he said.

“I thought nothing of it because, at that point in time, what mattered was Dredz getting kicked out and how we could support him,” he said.

As Gru returned to his room within the hotel, he says he found his key card had been deactivated.

“It was weird,” he said. “The only time in the last 16 months that has happened to me was when I returned from a [COVID-19] isolation period.”

Upon touching base with hotel staff, Gru says he was told his keycard would be reactivated only upon agreeing to sign paperwork acknowledging that he had violated the shelter’s terms of agreement by recording Green’s interaction.The paperwork also asked Gru to agree to no longer “interfere with staff while they are performing their duties,” something he immediately flagged as detrimental to the ongoing organization efforts.

“It’s at the top of a number of people’s minds,” Gru said. “When we’re talking about starting to do this collective work, people are concerned with what will happen if the shelter staff decide they don’t want this collective to form.”

When Gru challenged the request and asked staff what would happen if he refused to sign the paperwork, he says staff admitted he couldn’t be forced to, and, if he didnt, a refusal note would go on his file and he would be permitted back into his room regardless.

“It felt like a power thing,” he said. “There’s almost this level of implied coercion – they never said ‘If you don't sign the paperwork, you won't be allowed back into your room,’ but that's what people think is implied.”

When reached for comment, the City of Toronto told CTV News Toronto that Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) cannot discuss individual client cases due to privacy, but did note that recording or sharing a video of other Novotel residents in the shelter is a privacy violation under section 5.1 of the Toronto Shelter Standards.

"Staff are encouraged to use a harm reduction approach to conduct client wellness checks, while being courteous and respectful of client autonomy, privacy, and balancing safety concerns," a statement issued by SSHA said.

Green, whose access to the shelter has now been reactivated, told CTV News Toronto during a phone interview he feels Gru was unfairly disciplined for attempting to act as support during the situation.

“From the best of my knowledge, [shelter staff] were attempting to suspend Gru for being an impartial witness to a situation,” he said, adding that he and Gru often work alongside one another to promote community organization amongst residents.

“We just occasionally gather people and encourage them to come to meetings if they have the time,” he explained. “We socialize with different crowds and so between us, we can cover [residents] across the board.”

Green feels shelter staff’s use of power is stifling these efforts.

“There’s a lot of … micromanagement happening and there's no one to hold them accountable,” he said. “They can make rash decisions, like trying to make someone sign a contract without [having done] anything wrong or discharging them.”

When asked about shelter staff’s actions, Gru said they’re effective in instilling fear in residents.

“It becomes difficult to overcome the fear and stand your ground.”

Ultimately, Green says he wants it known that homeless people have the same right to community organization as others.

“We deserve to apply the tools we have to work towards independence.”