Discrimination in Access to Services

By: Christy Gendy

Gladiator recently settled a case on behalf of two Black women who were racially discriminated against by an employee of a major transit service in Ontario.

The incident began when the women were attempting to tap their transit cards. One of their cards had insufficient funds, and they began to search for a second card to pay. The transit employee intervened in an accusatory manner, treating the card rejection as grounds for suspicion, and required that they pay immediately rather than be allowed to continue searching for another card. There was no policy being violated nor wrongdoing of any kind, however, the employee became increasingly aggressive.

Noticing the aggression, multiple passengers attempted to intervene, and one even paid the outstanding fare. Despite this, the employee chose to follow them through the station, continuing to subject them to scrutiny and harassment after there was no longer any basis to do so, and refused to let them proceed by blocking a doorway. The experience caused significant lasting harm and drew unwanted public attention to our clients.

This case followed an important precedent set by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. In Nakogee v. North Bay Transit (“Nakogee”), the Tribunal ruled that an Indigenous family was discriminated against after a transit driver refused to let them board a bus despite them holding valid passes. Despite some evidence that the bus driver was sometimes hostile to passengers of other racial backgrounds as well, the Tribunal found that race and Indigenous identity were still factors in the driver's decision, and ordered North Bay Transit to pay $45,000 in damages, update its policies, and train its staff. That ruling made clear that transit agencies have a legal obligation under the Human Rights Code to treat every rider equally, and that failing to do so carries real consequences, even where a prohibited ground of discrimination may just be one of several factors in the mistreatment.

Our clients' experience reflected the same pattern: a transit worker making a prejudiced assumption seemingly based on race, at least as one factor, and then overreacting to an ordinary situation because of it. In this case, we were able to reach a negotiated settlement on our clients' behalf without the expense of a trial.

If you or someone you know has been discriminated against or mistreated because of a protected ground of discrimination, we encourage you to book a free consultation for legal support: Call (647) 922-7759 or visit www.mygladiator.ca