A Heiltsuk Nation woman and her father have filed a human rights complaint alleging they faced racial stereotyping and a racist comment at a Canadian Tire store in Coquitlam.
Dawn Wilson and her father, Richard Wilson, said they felt singled out by a security guard at the store because they’re Indigenous. Dawn Wilson said she was then enraged when a store employee repeated a stereotype in front of her and others.
The security guard’s employer, Blackbird Security, is also named in the complaint, said Wilson on Tuesday.
People found to be a victim of discrimination can expect compensation set by the tribunal, based on precedents.
But Wilson said what she and her father are really looking for “is for the systemic racism to be addressed on multiple levels,” including by Canadian Tire’s head office, the franchise store and the third-party security company.
She hopes calling out racism publicly will help others become more aware of how hurtful it is to be the target and how the racism needs to stop.
“It’s not OK, there needs to be more cultural sensitivity training around about how we’re treated,” she said. “We shouldn’t have to feel hyper vigilant shopping or nervous at the till or ashamed, you know, like we’re thieves. … It’s just not fair.”
Wilson had dropped off her car for service in January 2020. She and her father killed time waiting for the car by shopping.
They were at the till about to pay for about $600 in merchandise when a security guard asked to see inside her dad’s knapsack, which she said was small and contained his wallet.
He complied.
“When I looked at my dad and I could see how he felt in his eyes, I knew (that he felt ashamed) and I felt ashamed that I didn’t say anything because I knew that that was wrong,” she said.
Wilson said she mentioned it to an employee while picking up her car and he responded by loudly telling her how his father taught him the “difference between an ’Indian’ and a ‘Native’” was that “an ‘Indian’ comes from the reserve and begs and steals and demands money, and ‘Natives’ do not.”
“I was crying and I felt such rage,” Wilson said.
She said another employee said, “‘I’m so sorry that happened.’”
The Wilsons filed a long complaint email to the Canadian Tire head office but heard nothing back even after several followup emails. She said she called and was told her complaint was misfiled and she was offered a $50 gift card.
“I was totally insulted that they weren’t actually addressing the total situation,” she said.
A head office employee eventually apologized.
The complaint to the tribunal was first made in 2021, but was delayed by Canadian Tire wanting Blackbird Security named as a respondent.
The Wilsons have since received help from the Heiltsuk Nation, which has launched a Strong As Cedar (strongascedar.ca) anti-racism campaign.
But since the Nation got lawyers involved, the chain is “still ignoring us, they’re still dismissing what happened, they’re not even talking to us right now,” she said.
“Trust has been broken. Canadian Tire had no reason to search Richard’s backpack, except that he looked Indigenous,” Chief Marilyn Slett said in a statement.
A statement from the Canadian Tire Corporation says racial profiling and racism should not happen and the owner of the Coquitlam store has been co-operating with the human rights tribunal.
Wilson said her father spent $600 that day and her car repair bill was $800.
“Why are we treated differently?” she asked.
She said the video footage she has seen shows non-Indigenous people carrying bags and they weren’t searched.
“If they had a no-backpack policy, they could have done it more privately,” she said.
And, “For us, it matters when people say sorry, those are very powerful words.”
After attending Monday’s Truth and Reconciliation Day event in New Westminster, she said she was in the Burnaby Costco when a shopper greeted her in a sing song chant: “Hey, how are ya, Hey how are ya.” His buddy laughed.
“I walked over and I sang it back to them, and I said, ‘Do you think that’s funny?’” she said. “He had the opportunity to turn around and say I’m so sorry but his ego didn’t let him. Maybe next time he’ll think twice, maybe his friend won’t do it, too, maybe it ends there.”
“I hope that he learns something. Somebody has to say that’s not OK.
“Isn’t the Truth and Reconciliation Day of all days where I get to say something?”
With files from The Canadian Press
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