On September 3, 2019, Quebec’s Human Rights Tribunal ordered a patient to $9,500 in moral and punitive damages for making discriminatory comments against a Arabic healthcare worker, a case brought by the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse.

According to the facts reported in the judgment, the complainant, of Arab origin, worked as an auxiliary nurse in a Montreal-area hospital, where the patient aggressively asked they to leave the treating room, told to go home and insulted on account of their ethnicity.

During the exchange, the patient aggressively asked the healthcare worker to leave, then told him to go back home and called him an “Arabic squeak”. The hospital coordinator had to intervene, but the patient refused to apologize and asked to be served by other employees who are not of Arab origin

When the patient was contacted by a Commission investigator for his version of the facts, he not only reiterated his words, but threatened to physically attack the complainant. During the hearing, the respondent tried to justify himself by the fact that he was under the effect of morphine. The judge concluded, however, that “Anger or intoxication can not serve as a valid excuse for making discriminatory remarks. “

The Tribunal’s decision emphasizes that it is not only unacceptable, but contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to insult a person and to question his or her professional behavior based on personal characteristics that have nothing to do with their skills.

“We must be collectively challenged, especially since racialized minorities are particularly targeted by hate speech and acts in Quebec. These words and actions have an impact on the sense of belonging to Quebec society of the people who suffer from them, “said Philippe-André Tessier, President of the Commission.

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Source 1 Jugment 2 (In French only)