Ontario Court Saves Black Business From Anti-Black Racist Eviction

A landlord-tenant dispute centering on allegations of racism almost forced a family-run business, Elias Restaurant, to find a new home.

Toronto’s Elias Restaurant, which serves African and Caribbean foods, primarily caters to the Black community. Its owners argued they were the subject of anti-Black discrimination, which could have cost them their livelihood.

Evicted Due to “Racial Stereotyping”

Elias’ troubles began when its landlord attempted to replace the family-run restaurant with a new tenant, “that attracts a different clientele than the Tenant,” reads the racism lawsuit.

Justice Ed Morgan of the Superior Court firmly rejected the landlord’s approach, and barred the landlord from evicting the Black restaurateurs from the premises.

During the trial, various statements by representatives for the landlord were indicative of “racial stereotyping,” wrote Justice Ed Morgan.

“Identifying a family-run restaurant as not family-friendly, and impugning a restaurant-bar for serving ‘liquor’ and having smokers stand outside the premises, all point to a mindset that condemns the minority population for what is considered normal behaviour for the majority population,” he wrote in the September decision.

The Ontario Superior Court judge continued that while a single “adjudication dealing with a discreet conflict between a commercial Landlord and Tenant cannot possibly address society’s many challenges with respect to racial justice, it equally cannot ignore them.”

Therefore, the Court decided that at the very least, the societal realities pertaining to Black businesspeople, like the tenants, “must be factored into the exercise of the Court’s discretion in considering equitable remedies,” such as injunctions and relief from eviction.

Anti-Black Racism in Canada

The Court agreed that the presence of racism in Canada can be accepted as factual, because “The existence of anti-[B]lack racism in Canadian society is not the subject of debate among reasonable people.”

Counsel for the tenant, Miguna Miguna, says that while there are other decisions dealing with anti-Black racism in residential tenancy matters, this is the first commercial tenancy case heard in court for racism.

“This is a very, very important decision,” Miguna told the Law Times. “In fact, I think it is a seminal or landmark decision, because not once has the judiciary pronounced itself in Canada on the issue of anti-Black racism, vis a vis commercial leases, and commercial landlords.”

Elias Restaurant Fights for Racial Justice

At issue was the 1500-square-foot space in the Keele Sheppard Plaza, in Northwest Toronto, which had been home to Elias Restaurant since 2013.

The lease term was five years and included an additional extension option. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Elias Restaurant never missed a rent payment, largely due to the restaurant’s flourishing takeout business.

Under the lease agreement, the tenant was required to provide written notice that they wish to exercise their option to extend the lease six months prior to the expiration of their five-year term. Although Elias Restaurant failed to provide written notice, it had attempted to get in touch with the landlord and the landlord’s property manager on several occasions, both before and after the cut-off date.

It soon became clear that the failure to reach the landlord and arrange for an extension of the lease was because the landlord and property manager did not want Elias Restaurant in the plaza.

According to the landlord’s affidavit, the tenants were unattractive occupants because they did not bring in “like-minded, family-oriented customers.”

Racist Landlord Shut Down by Court Amid Black Lives Matter Movement

The Ontario Superior Court decision comes at a time when racial justice is front-and-centre for Canadians. Following several Black Lives Matter protests throughout the nation, the Court’s ruling reflects a heightened awareness of racism in Canada.

In Court, legal counsel for Elias Restaurant argued that it was not that families do not eat at Elias Restaurant, but that the wrong kind of families eat there, and that there was a “barely veiled tone of racism” detectable in the landlord’s and property manager’s submissions to the court.

For example, the landlord also argued that the tenant had to vacate the premises for financial reasons. A new tenant – a doctor’s office – would likely bring in more rental income and “benefit other Plaza tenants by attracting like-minded family customers and meet important needs of the neighbourhood.”

However, the offer from the doctor was less than the tenant’s current rent and “substantially less” than the $7,500 monthly rent fee the tenant offered in 2019 for the new lease.

According to Elias Restaurant’s lawyer, there was no other explanation for the eviction “but the fact that the tenants were African Canadian.”

What do you think about the Elias Restaurant case? Has your business been threatened due to discrimination? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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