The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto has filed a legal claim against the contractor and subcontractor who failed to deliver 17 of the 70 the buses hired to drive from Thornhill, Ont., to and from Ottawa on Dec. 4, for the event branded as Canada’s Rally for the Jewish People.
In the Ontario Superior Court statement of claim filed Jan. 2, UJA names bus company TLC Worldwide and two people from that company—along with the subcontractor that TLC has said was responsible for the breach of their agreement.
UJA is seeking damages for breach of contract at more than $164,000, in addition to further damages that include $200,000 in punitive damages. The statement of claim also seeks to recoup UJA’s legal fees, and reimbursements for those who needed to pay for alternate transportation when the buses never showed up.
The allegations in the statement of claim have not been tested in court.
In the filing, UJA seeks to establish that the bus contractors, or specific subcontractors who failed to provide some of the buses violated the Ontario Human Rights Code “by refusing to provide services to Jews.”
“At the time, we shared our view that this appeared to be an intentional move to disrupt our rally—and that we would be seeking full accountability,” the UJA said in a statement released on Jan. 2.
“Since the Ottawa rally, our first priority has been to secure a full refund, protecting the interests of the thousands of community members who give generously to UJA. Despite providing sufficient opportunity to be repaid by those responsible, as of today, we have not received a refund and our patience has reached its limit.
“Our second priority has been to ensure legal accountability not only for financial purposes, but also so that this outrageous act of discrimination against our community does not go unchallenged.”
UJA previously issued a statement on the morning of Dec. 4, in which it concluded that the lack of communication about the buses not showing up amounted to discrimination.
“Given the absolute silence of the subcontractor and with no other explanation, we are driven to the view that this shameful decision is intended to disrupt our peaceful rally out of hatred toward Jews,” the Dec. 4 statement read in part.
In the filing, Ryan Singh and TLC are named as contractors, while the subcontractor parties, who allegedly took payment while refusing service, are named as Prestige Worldwide Transportation Network LLC and Mohammed Ashfaq.
The claim lays out an alleged sequence of events: a week earlier, UJA communicated its concerns about discrimination showing up as potential refusal of service, and made it clear the buses were to transport a majority Jewish group to Ottawa.
“We would like to bring to your attention transportation cancellations related to the March for Israel, a pro-Jewish rally held in Washington on Nov. 14,” the UJA wrote in its Nov. 27 letter to TLC and to Singh specifically, according to the filing.
“Several transportation companies unilaterally canceled their bus arrangements, leaving many clients without transportation solutions.
“This understandably raises concerns about potential disruptions to our upcoming event on Dec. 4, 2023,” the UJA letter read.
According to the allegations in the filing, the contractor, Singh—who told UJA on Nov. 29 that he’d shared the message with the subcontractor, Ashfaq—began to communicate with the UJA on or around Dec. 3 to say that the subcontractor could not be reached.
“Singh advised that he was concerned Prestige and Ashfaq would not deliver its quote of buses to the rally,” the filing says. While the UJA paid its 50 percent deposit on the roughly $160,000 bus contract, TLC informed UJA that it had paid Prestige and Ashfaq in full up front for its bus services.
In the filing, the UJA maintains that it paid $68,260 more than was required to under the bus services agreement, and that it has sought out reimbursement from TLC, which has not yet taken place.
“Prestige and Ashfaq have failed to advise why they have retained their entire allotment of funds from TLC and yet refused to provide its allotment of buses for the Jewish travellers from Toronto to and from Ottawa. What is known is that Prestige and Ashfaq were made aware of the UJA letter of Nov. 27, 2023 making clear that the buses were for a Jewish event and that Prestige and Ashfaq were paid in full and then didn’t deliver, and have gone in communicado.”
The filing goes on to allege that the failure of Prestige and Ashfaq to provide a response, and its decision to renege on the agreement to provide the buses while keeping the money “was because the services were to be provided [to] Jewish Ontarians,” saying the refusal breaches the Ontario Human Rights Code.
In one section of the statement of claim, the UJA says the defendants conspired to mislead the UJA about their intentions to uphold the service agreement, and that they “actively concealed” the plan to provide all the buses, breaching the contract.
Sara Lefton, the UJA’s chief development officer, told The CJN on Dec. 4 that this was “a real-time example of why we need to stand up against antisemitism.”
“We can infer this is fuelled by a hatred of Jews and trying to prevent Jewish people from coming to a rally in Ottawa to stand up as Canadians and to fight hate,” she said in December.
In the statement of claim, UJA says there was a “callous disregard” for their rights and those of community members.
“The defendants acted in a high-handed manner towards the plaintiff and the Jewish community as a whole and exhibited conduct or omissions in the performance of their duties that should be sanctioned by an award of punitive, aggravated or exemplary damaged by this Court,” the filing says in its conclusion.
Attempts by The CJN and others to locate and reach Prestige and Ashfaq have been unsuccessful, and tangible traces of the company’s presence in Toronto seem scant.
The only evidence of a real company that resembles the one mentioned in the UJA statement of claim, Prestige Worldwide Transportation Network LLC, appears to be based in Denver, Colo., and does not appear to have any Canadian branches of its limousine and coach services. The contact information listed in the filing includes a Gmail address for Prestige, and a Florida area-code number for Ashfaq—which was already out of service when The CJN and other news media outlets attempted phone contact on Dec. 4.
However, online searches primarily point to references to the 2008 comedy film Step Brothers, which stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, whose characters try to sell investors on a venture with the same name.
“Prestige Worldwide is a once in a lifetime business opportunity,” say the characters in their pitch. “The first word in entertainment, management, financial portfolios, insurance, computers, black leather gloves, research and development, and security.”
In Toronto, there is a freight business named Prestige World that does not appear to be the same business mentioned in the filing. Also, it appears to provide logistics rather than transportation services.
