Butcher and corporate employer held liable for discriminatory verbal and physical attack on customer.
The complainant, a black Christian from southern Sudan, alleged discrimination in the provision of services by a butcher at a hallal meat store.
The adjudicator found that the butcher initiated a verbal altercation regarding religion and ethnicity, which escalated into a physical attack with a meat cleaver.
The adjudicator concluded that the butcher discriminated against the complainant on the basis of creed and ethnic origin contrary to section 1 of the Human Rights Code.
The corporate respondent was held jointly and severally liable under section 45(1) of the Code.
The complainant was awarded $10,000 in general damages and $5,000 for mental distress.
Ontario Human Rights Commission v. Paradise Fine Foods Ltd., 2007 HRTO 12
