Black activist grievance lawyer not happy with outcome.
Just because a person from a racial minority gets into a nasty argument over the provision of a service does not mean he has been discriminated against, the Ontario Divisional Court has ruled, in the case of a librarian who asked two black lawyers for identification in a courthouse library.
The ruling on alleged racial profiling, rare because it does not involve police, clarifies that discrimination must be proven, not just assumed because the complainant is part of a minority.
“A complainant cannot merely point to his or her membership in a racialized group and an unpleasant interaction to establish a prima facie case of discrimination,” says the judgment, overturning a Human Rights Tribunal finding in the case.
Selwyn Pieters, the complainant and a well-known lawyer on criminal cases in Toronto’s black community, said he is contemplating an appeal.