Homeless man frustrated in efforts to obtain shelter incident report

Brian DuBourdieu still can’t walk properly. He hobbles around with a brace to support two suspected torn ligaments and damaged cartilage in his left knee, as a result of an alleged attack by City staff at Seaton House shelter in Toronto on June 24. That evening, DuBourdieu alleged he was jumped from behind by five City managers, tackled to the ground and kicked repeatedly, before being dragged down three flights of stairs and thrown out on to the sidewalk.

After DuBourdieu managed to make his way over to St. Michael’s hospital, where he spent the night in the emergency department, he filed a report with the police claiming that he had been assaulted by Seaton house staff. DuBourdieu hasn’t heard from the police since the incident and, as far as he knows, no charges were laid against his alleged assailants.

On July 9, DuBourdieu returned to Seaton House with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) to demand an incident report along with the names of the staff who allegedly assaulted him. Seaton House maintained that DuBourdieu had to make a Freedom of Information request with the City of Toronto Corporate Access and Privacy Office and refused to make any comment about the alleged incident. But a strike by City of Toronto municipal workers meant no one is available to process his request. 

OCAP said DuBourdieu has a right to the incident report, especially since he’s been barred from Seaton House until December 25, 2009.

“Something very serious happened to Brian that night,” said Gaetan Heroux at a press conference Monday outside Seaton House. “We want Seaton House to know that it’s not okay to beat up a homeless man and then dump him on the sidewalk.”

Heroux said that Seaton House could have printed off a copy of the report and handed it to DuBourdieu a few weeks ago, but he was hoping to secure one on Monday. Before a delegation went into Seaton House to make another urgent request for the incident report, Beric German recalled the long history of Seaton House and the shelter system in Toronto.

Located at 339 George Street near Dundas and Sherbourne, homeless men are forced to live in overcrowded spaces under very difficult circumstances. “It’s easy for incidents to happen because people are living under extreme stress,” said German. “That’s why staff have to be very careful about what they do. You have to be careful with a vulnerable person.”

Following German, Heroux grabbed the megaphone and turned away from supporters to address staff who were outside listening to goings on. “You must know what happened to Brian,” he said. “You must talk to each other. But no one from this place wants to come out and talk to Brian about what happened.

“Why the silence? Why are you refusing to speak to Brian?”

Inside the entrance of Seaton House, numerous attempts to obtain the incident report were met with the same response. “You have a right to the information,” said Shawn. “Fill out the application forms and make a Freedom of Information request with the City of Toronto Corporate Access and Privacy Office. There’s nothing else I can do.”

Even though DuBourdieu has the right to appeal his bar from Seaton House, he doesn’t have the bar in writing. And if he’s going to appeal his bar, he needs the incident report, which he can’t get while the municipal workers are on strike.

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