Meet the man who escaped from a COVID hotel in Toronto

By David Menzies
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January 22, 2021

By David Menzies

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Is the Radisson Suite Hotel Toronto Airport a hotel… or an internment camp/quarantine facility?

Check out the curious case of DuRae (he declined to provide his surname.)

Recently, DuRae and his father returned to Toronto from Jamaica, landing at Pearson International Airport. Because they had not been tested for COVID-19 in Jamaica prior to boarding their flight, and because they declined to take the test at Pearson, they were promptly escorted onto a bus and then shuttled off to the nearby Radisson Hotel on Dixon Road. But this isn’t a de rigueur Radisson anymore. In fact. DuRae says the facility now resembles a prison moreso than a hotel.

DuRae notes they were brought to a temporary entrance on the south side of the hotel and then told to fill out various paperwork. DuRae says he noticed several people in full hazmat suits. Eventually, DuRae and his dad were frog-marched to their room. They were ordered not to leave the room and told they weren’t allowed to buy their own food. Rather, they would have to eat whatever was provided to them by the Red Cross. This was somewhat of an issue for DuRae as he is a strict vegan. As well, the windows in their unit were sealed shut, preventing them from accessing fresh air.

Anti-lockdown protester Chris Sky heard about their plight and sprung into action by orchestrating a “prison break.”

Sky ordered an Uber to the hotel and informed DuRae and his father to make a run for it. And they did so as various staff members yelled at them to go back to their room. Alas, it was all bark and no bite as there was no physical intervention, allowing father and son duo to hop into a waiting Uber ride and make a beeline to their lakeshore area condo.

Later that day, three Toronto Police Service cruisers paid a visit to their condo tower, and the duo was informed they must remain there for a 14-day quarantine period. DuRae is fine with that — at least he can eat palatable food while being confined to quarters.

We recently visited the west-end airport Radisson (not to be confused with the now de-flagged Radisson Toronto East, which is exclusively a refugee-claimant facility these days.)

While on site, we encountered a Paladin security guard in an SUV at the driveway; this was hardly the welcome wagon: we were told to leave the premises. A hotel employee also told us to leave, saying the hotel was closed because it is currently “under construction.” That was an odd remark indeed, given that we saw no construction workers nor construction equipment. But we did see numerous people in the hotel rooms.

A phone call to the front desk revealed that the hotel is now being operated by the federal government as a quarantine facility and is closed to the general public.

Why there is such a lack of transparency regarding the hotel’s status and why we were told it is “under construction” is anyone’s guess, but yet again, folks, another example of your tax dollars hard at work, as per usual…

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