Hot News: Outreach worker says he was banned from Edmonton mall for no reason

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EDMONTON - 'I felt small,' said Gary Moostoos, an Edmonton outreach worker who says he was banned for six months from the City Centre Mall for 'having a bowl of soup.'

Moostoos, who works at Boyle Street Community Services, said he was eating in the food court Monday evening - something he says he does regularly - when he was approached by mall security staff.

'Halfway through, two security guards came over to my table and asked me for my name,' he recalled, 'and when I inquired why they said 'because you are observed as having suspicious activity.''

Moostoos said the security guards told him they needed to run his name because he looked like someone who was banned from the mall.

He was asked for identification, which he handed over. Moostoos said when the guards ran his name, it came up clear.

He asked the guards: 'Why are you doing this? It's not right.'

Moostoos said he was told by a mall security manager that he has a history of being confrontational and associates with people who have been banned from the mall and have criminal backgrounds.

After a 10-minute discussion - which he captured on video - he was banned from the mall and asked to leave.



Moostoos believes he was unfairly targeted.

'I have heard this before from people that I work with here at Boyle Street,' he said. 'I'm actually living this.'

He shared his story on Facebook and it was quickly shared across social media.

Gary Moostoos six month bar at City Centre Mall unjustified and an insult to a man who is a spiritual leader

- Boyle Street (@BoyleStreet) October 28, 2014

Boyle Street's executive director is upset about what happened.

'We were really disturbed to hear about Gary being evicted from City Centre Mall by a group of security guards last night for no other reason - it seemed to us - other than he was told he was working with gangs and people with criminal backgrounds,' said Julian Daly.

'As far as we're concerned, that's part of his work.'

Oxford Properties Group, which owns City Centre Mall, did not want to participate in an on-camera interview with Global News, but issued the following statement: 'Our top priority is to ensure that Edmonton City Centre is a safe and positive environment for customers to visit and shop. In response to an incident that occurred on October 27, 2014, the management of Edmonton City Centre is committing to review the interaction between our security team and an individual who was subsequently banned from the property. Management will be conducting an investigation that will include reviewing the engagement by security, the policies we have in place and the training we provide. We will also be reaching out to the individual to request a meeting as part of this review.'

Daly welcomes the opportunity to sit down and speak with officials from the mall.

He says, while it's the first time a Boyle Street staff member has been banned from the mall, he's heard about it happening to clients.

'A number of our clients - and it seems to be particularly Aboriginal clients - are asked to leave the mall or barred for reasons that are either unclear or seem to be almost non-existent.'

He believes Moostoos was not given the respect he deserves.

'It makes me quite angry to be honest,' said Daly.

'A good man like Gary, a spiritual elder - he's like our priest - being forcibly remove from the mall as a result of the work he does here at Boyle Street... incredible work he does with some of the most marginalized Aboriginal people.'

'Gary has done a lot of great work using culture and spirituality as a way to support people out of gangs and away from criminal behaviours,' added Daly.

He said the entire experience has taken a toll on Moostoos.

'I think it's been hard for Gary. He was very distressed... It was a very humiliating experience for him to be escorted out in front of hundreds of people from the mall.'

'It's shameful.'

'I felt small,' said Moostoos, wiping away tears. 'I didn't get emotional until after I thought about it.'

'I was asking myself 'what just happened here?' And I thought 'oh my god, this is exactly how my people feel on a daily basis here.''

'I went home and cried.'

Officials with Oxford Properties Group said they have asked to meet with Moostoos as they look into what happened Monday night. Follow @Emily_Mertz

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