Berating a Muslim family out for dinner in a restaurant has cost a Quebec woman $15,300, says Blacklock’s Reporter..Witnesses said the family’s children burst into tears as the woman shouted, “Get out of my country.”.“The look of the lady that I saw, the hatred,” testified Mona Amer, the mother who filed the complaint with the Québec Human Rights Tribunal..“I saw this woman videotaping me. It lasted a good five minutes.”.The tribunal was told Amer of Sainte-Foy, a lifelong Québec resident, was dining at a shopping mall restaurant in 2018 with her husband and three young children when a passerby began videotaping the family with her smartphone..Amer wears a hijab..“Get out of my country,” the woman shouted..“I’m talking to you, the one with the veil.”.Witnesses said the woman kept hectoring the family and making an obscene gesture with her middle finger as the children began to cry..“She is Canadian!” said Amer’s husband, a provincial employee and Commissioner for Oaths..“Why are you doing this?” said patrons at nearby tables..The woman, Veronique Bédard-Lafrance, did not attend the hearing despite a summons..Evidence showed Bédard-Lafrance posted the video on her Facebook page with the comment, “When you want to explain to a veiled woman that even in her country they fight not to put on the veil.”.Tribunal Judge Christian Brunelle said the videotaping and Facebook post were obviously done to humiliate the family..“Dissemination of images on social media can contribute to perpetuating the prejudices and stereotypes conveyed by discriminatory remarks,” wrote Brunelle..The tribunal noted the woman’s “tone of voice,” her insulting language and obscene gesture..“The use of the middle finger here accentuates the contempt which characterizes the discriminatory remarks,” wrote Brunelle..“It makes it worse. In addition, using a smartphone to capture the reaction of the person who was the target of her discriminatory remarks accentuates the seriousness of this..“As Ms. Bédard-Lafrance bursts into the restaurant, she targets Mrs. Amer because she is wearing the hijab. On the basis of the stereotype that only women of Arab origin cover their hair in this way, she utters her insults of both an ethnic and religious character..“Everything indicates Ms. Bédard-Lafrance intended to humiliate Mrs. Amer, whom she targets in public for no reason except that of wanting to exclude and belittle her because she wears a religious symbol that arouses her intolerance. Such conduct must be bluntly condemned in a free and democratic society which accepts a great diversity of religious beliefs with respect for the equality and dignity of every human person.”.Amer testified she was so upset by the incident she could not leave the house. The family said their eldest child, aged 10, suffered panic attacks and had to be counseled.
Berating a Muslim family out for dinner in a restaurant has cost a Quebec woman $15,300, says Blacklock’s Reporter..Witnesses said the family’s children burst into tears as the woman shouted, “Get out of my country.”.“The look of the lady that I saw, the hatred,” testified Mona Amer, the mother who filed the complaint with the Québec Human Rights Tribunal..“I saw this woman videotaping me. It lasted a good five minutes.”.The tribunal was told Amer of Sainte-Foy, a lifelong Québec resident, was dining at a shopping mall restaurant in 2018 with her husband and three young children when a passerby began videotaping the family with her smartphone..Amer wears a hijab..“Get out of my country,” the woman shouted..“I’m talking to you, the one with the veil.”.Witnesses said the woman kept hectoring the family and making an obscene gesture with her middle finger as the children began to cry..“She is Canadian!” said Amer’s husband, a provincial employee and Commissioner for Oaths..“Why are you doing this?” said patrons at nearby tables..The woman, Veronique Bédard-Lafrance, did not attend the hearing despite a summons..Evidence showed Bédard-Lafrance posted the video on her Facebook page with the comment, “When you want to explain to a veiled woman that even in her country they fight not to put on the veil.”.Tribunal Judge Christian Brunelle said the videotaping and Facebook post were obviously done to humiliate the family..“Dissemination of images on social media can contribute to perpetuating the prejudices and stereotypes conveyed by discriminatory remarks,” wrote Brunelle..The tribunal noted the woman’s “tone of voice,” her insulting language and obscene gesture..“The use of the middle finger here accentuates the contempt which characterizes the discriminatory remarks,” wrote Brunelle..“It makes it worse. In addition, using a smartphone to capture the reaction of the person who was the target of her discriminatory remarks accentuates the seriousness of this..“As Ms. Bédard-Lafrance bursts into the restaurant, she targets Mrs. Amer because she is wearing the hijab. On the basis of the stereotype that only women of Arab origin cover their hair in this way, she utters her insults of both an ethnic and religious character..“Everything indicates Ms. Bédard-Lafrance intended to humiliate Mrs. Amer, whom she targets in public for no reason except that of wanting to exclude and belittle her because she wears a religious symbol that arouses her intolerance. Such conduct must be bluntly condemned in a free and democratic society which accepts a great diversity of religious beliefs with respect for the equality and dignity of every human person.”.Amer testified she was so upset by the incident she could not leave the house. The family said their eldest child, aged 10, suffered panic attacks and had to be counseled.
