Denese Espeut Post
"To deny any person their human rights is to challenge their very humanity"
- Nelson Mandela
Remember when you walked into the mall, and somebody opened the door for you or when you went to your favourite store and had to wait in line, but someone showed you kindness by giving up their spot for you? Acting that way is a “courtesy,” which is an expression of being kind.
Courtesy is an essential word in Canadian vocabulary, and we believe there is an overall presumption that Canadians are courteous people. While that statement is a generalization, there are elements of truth in it. Courtesy is the act of showing politeness in one’s attitude and behaviour towards others. Not showing courtesy to a person can run the spectrum of simply being uncourteous to being an outright breach of another’s human rights.
Human rights are those naturally given rights to which every individual is entitled. Not all human rights are absolute, but certain rights like the right to life and the right to dignity of a human person are fundamental, and the law seeks to protect them.
Uncourteous behaviour such as discrimination and unfair treatment can impact our human rights. An important question to ask is whether you are protected by law if you are treated unfairly or discriminated against, whether as, for example, a person providing or getting service, as an owner of a business or an employee of that business, or as a recipient of basic amenities. The short answer is both yes and no.
Both British Columbia and Canadian law have legislation that protects every resident that falls into a specific category from discrimination and unfair treatment. The BC Human Rights Code seeks to protect every single person from discrimination in their day-to-day activities. There are five main aspects of our lives that the Code aims to protect. These areas are employment, housing, services, membership in unions and associations and publications. The Code seeks to protect against discrimination based on several personal characteristics that define us as human. For instance, if you tried to rent a piece of equipment and are not allowed to rent it because you are 65 years of age, the Code is there to protect you. As long as the law does not forbid you from renting such equipment, the rental refusal may fall under discrimination under the Code, and the person affected may be entitled to compensation.
Similarly, you cannot be refused service at a spa, grocery store or any other place simply because of your color or your ancestry. Whether you descend from aboriginal, Italian, Ghanaian, Jamaican ancestry or any other ancestry, this can not be a basis for the refusal of service. Other protected personal characteristics include a person’s sex, marital status, gender identity or expression, family status, sexual orientation, place of origin, physical disability, political belief, religion, mental disability, or a prior criminal conviction.
It is important to note that just because you feel ill-treated or discriminated against in a situation, it does not mean the action resulting in those feelings will amount to a breach according to the Code. The negative treatment must bring a negative effect on someone related to their protected trait and sometimes the connection between a negative effect and the trait discriminated against is not clear. In addition, defences may be available for some discriminatory behaviour. It is important to seek legal advice to learn more about the Code and how it protects you.
Denese Espeut-Post is an Okanagan-based lawyer and owns Avery Law Office. Her primary areas of practice include wine and business law. This article was writer by law student Adewale Ajayi.