A homeless man says he has been turned away from a Charlottetown grocery store where he had become a regular paying customer.
Oliver McKay, 37, says most evenings over the past couple weeks he would go to Sobeys on University Avenue across from Canadian Tire to get a bite to eat. He would buy food, like bologna and bread, and sit down for a meal at a table provided for that purpose.
He says he returned Sunday night to make a purchase only to be told by a security guard that the store’s manager doesn’t like him loitering inside the building.
McKay says he may have stayed for an hour or so at a time each evening he went into the store in the past two weeks to eat food purchased in the store and to just relax.
“It doesn’t have no time limit,’’ he said. “I don’t bother anybody.’’
McKay, who came to The Guardian Monday unshaven and in dusty, well-worn clothes, says he feels he is being discriminated against because of his appearance.
He may be a homeless person, he says, but he only goes to Sobeys when he plans to make a purchase.
“A customer is a customer,’’ he said, holding a receipt for a recent purchase of a stick of bologna in the store.
“It doesn’t matter if he is rich, poor or black or white, pink or purple or green. A customer is a customer. If they spend money, you treat them all the same.’’
McKay says he is angered over the incident to the point he will never shop at that store again. He says he came to the media so the public would know how he was treated simply because he is poor.
“I’m homeless, yes, I am, but I spend money,’’ he added. “I don’t drink (alcohol) or do drugs.’’
A manager with the store directed The Guardian to head office for comment, but a spokesperson for Sobeys could not be reached.
McKay, a native of New Brunswick, says he does not receive any social assistance in P.E.I. He usually makes $10 to $20 a morning panhandling outside a coffee shop – money he typically uses to buy food and cigarettes.
“Well, they’re caring,’’ he said of people who toss him change.
“There is some nice people.’’
McKay says he once hauled in about $300 over just a couple of hours by begging for money outside a liquor store in Fredericton.
He says he spends many hours in coffee shops to stay warm and dry. He also often relies on a friend for a place to stay at night, but has slept in his 1998 Pontiac Sunfire on numerous occasions and even slept on picnic tables in Victoria Park.
He says he takes a shower every day at the Salvation Army.
“All my possessions right now are in the pawn shop,’’ he added.
