The Globe and Mail is reporting that Toronto Restaurant Hong Shing Chinese has been ordered to pay $10,000 for making black customers pre-pay before making an order in a blatant case of racial profiling.
There was a decision handed down but the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, where adjudicator Esi Codjoe, found that Hong Shing Chinese Restaurant violated Emile Wickham’s rights. Codjoe ordered the restaurant to compensate Wickham for “rights infringement, and for the injury to his dignity, feelings and self-respect.”
The case presented stemmed from events that occurred when Wickham attended the restaurant with three friends for a birthday celebration in 2014. The table was directed to pay for the entire meal in advance of service and were the only customers asked to do so.
The restaurant responded by saying “The … restaurant operates from 11:00 a.m. (opening for lunch) until 5.00 a.m. in the evening, in particular the late evening and early morning, the restaurant is very busy and at times short-staffed. Because of its location, the restaurant attracts something of a transient crowd, and unfortunately it was very common in the past that customers “dine and dash” – that is, eat their meals, and leave the restaurant without paying. Accordingly, the respondent many years ago adopted a policy that where the staff on duty did not know the patron as a regular customer”
In a legal hearing in October 2017, Wickham testified that he approached other patrons at the restaurant to inquire if they as well had to pay for their meals up front and was shocked to find out that they weren’t.
Wickham further told media outlets that the staff at the restaurant were dismissive when the offended group asked to speak to a waiter and supervisor regarding their treatment.
Wickham further noted, “the thing about anti-Black racism is that a business can make a lot of money off of you, but how they treat you is a different story.”
Source: The Globe and Mail