Office complex bans poinsettias

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A three-building office complex in Ontario has issued a ban on holiday poinsettias for 6,000 workers due to one employee's allergy.

Property manager Nexacor sent out a memo on behalf of Bell Canada explaining workers at the Creekbank campus in Mississauga will not be allowed to keep the traditional plants on their desks due to a worker suffering from an allergy that could be life-threatening, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.

"Please make sure all personal plants on desks and other office areas are also removed by Dec. 21," the memo read. "Any plants found after Dec. 21 will be removed and disposed of without further notification."

Bell spokesman Mark Langton said the allergic employee has been with the company for 30 years.

Langton said Nexacor was being "overzealous" with the memo, which said a full plant ban would be enforced. He said such a ban has been in place since the office opened, but has not been enforced because it was mostly aimed at easing the transition into the building.