The TTC's CEO Was Booed & Heckled Out Of A Subway Station By Protestors Last Night
The public meeting turned into chaos.
A public meet-and-greet with TTC CEO Rick Leary and Councillor Brad Bradford appeared to go off the rails Monday night after a crowd of protestors swarmed the two men.
The meeting, which was promoted to help the company's head connect with transit riders, descended into chaos after protestors piled into the Main Street subway station, where the talk took place.
HAPPENING TONIGHT! Come out to Main St. TTC station to chat with me and TTC CEO Rick Leary between 5-7pm. \n\nI want to hear from you on how we can keep working to improve #transit in #TO.\n\n@TTChelps @TTCStuart @BeachHill_NA @ParkviewHillshttps://twitter.com/BradMBradford/status/1461484588593782784\u00a0\u2026— Brad Bradford\u270c\ufe0f (@Brad Bradford\u270c\ufe0f) 1637590425
Video footage of the event posted online shows Leary, Bradford, and other TTC representatives getting yelled at and called derogatory terms by a crowd of protestors before exiting the station while escorted by security.
Stuart Green, a TTC spokesperson who also attended the event, told Narcity it was cut short to defuse the situation and protect incoming commuters.
"I was with Rick. There was a small and very loud group who crashed Councillor Bradford's event at Main Street station last evening. The group became animated, shouting obscenities and disrupting customers who were heading home from work through the station," Green said.
He also noted that there were children present at the event who could've been exposed to the inappropriate language.
"Rick chose to leave in order to defuse the situation and to protect our customers from the vulgarity and disruptive, inappropriate behaviour of the protestors," he added.
Back in October, the TTC announced that its new mandatory vaccination policy would begin on November 20 and any employee not vaccinated by then would be put on unpaid leave. According to the agency's website, any TTC employees who are still not vaccinated by December 31 will be fired.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 released a statement against the TTC's vaccine mandate before the protest on Monday.
"The TTC's policy is inconsistent as it does not require TTC passengers to be vaccinated, meaning that the vast majority of people entering TTC workspaces, vehicles or stations are not required to be vaccinated," the statement reads.
"They have chosen to forgo proven safety measures like social distancing in order to punish workers and the people of Toronto," it adds.
Narcity reached out to ATU Local 311 for comment but did not hear back before this story's time of publication.