Toronto woman denied haircut files human rights complaint

[French Castanut]

So, what do we do here? We amend the coran or woman accepts the fact she won't get an haircut?

A Toronto woman has filed a human rights complaint after a downtown barbershop refused to cut her hair, saying it goes against the religious beliefs of the barbers.

http://t.news.ca.msn.com/canada/toronto ... omplaint-2

[grammafreddy]

This story reminds me of the one about the Molnars in Grand Forks who had a B&B and refused to rent to a gay couple. The couple filed a complaint against the Molnars, who said homosexuality was against their religion. The Human Rights people sided with the gay couple, saying the Molnars were operating a business (even though it was in their home) and could not refuse anyone based on their religious beliefs. They ended up closing their B&B.

How is this incident any different? The barber shop is a business and service is being refused based on religious beliefs. If the Molnars couldn't do that, then neither should this business be allowed to.

[Sn0man]

Well it is a barber shop, and barber shops cater to men. In that sense, I think this woman is being a bit ridiculous.

Equally ridiculous however is that a foreigner comes to Canada and refuses service to a woman based on some weird cultural thing. If they want to come to Canada, then assimilate into Canadian culture and leave the backwater extremist views at home. If he doesn't want women to come into his barber shop - give them bad haircuts ... they won't come back.

[Glacier]

While you can exclude majorities, the fact is you cannot discriminate against minorities. "Boy scouts" cannot deny girls from joining, but "girl guides" can deny boys from joining. A business can serve women, gays, or aboriginals only, but a business cannot serve men, heteros, or whites only. I'm not making a value judgement on this case; I'm merely stating how it works.

Note: a minority is not determined my numbers, but rather by power and clout.

[grammafreddy]

That doesn't make sense, Glacier.

Are you saying this isn't about human rights unless you are a minority? The same human rights are not for any majority?

[Glacier]

That is what I'm saying, but I'm no legal expert. As far as I know, Girl Guides can legally deny boys, but it is discriminator for Boy Scouts (or simply Scouts as they are called in Canada) to exclude girls.

[normaM]

I think Faith is wound a bit too tight.

[theyeti]

ridiculous on her part ..

egg on there face too ..

gotta wonder what woman goes to a barber first of all and second ? a human rights issue lol . wow

any business has rite to refuse any customer for any reason .

just cuz mcdonalds is open does not mean they have to serve me . i get that

[Amarow121]

If you're looking for a buzz cut does it really matter if you're a male or a female going to the barbers shop?

If someone walked into a barbars shop and was asking for a perm, with colour and the hippest new crazy hairstyle I could understand a barber redirecting the client to a hair salon.

[theyeti]

i fail to see your point , if i go to a 24 hr gas station and they have a back in 15 mins sign on the door am i to file a human rites complaint ? u mean to tell me this woman cant get a buzz cut anywhere else in toronto ?? she picked a muslim barber . she is just trying to raise a stink . i gotta wonder if this is even real its so bizzare

[grammafreddy]

any business has rite to refuse any customer for any reason .

just cuz mcdonalds is open does not mean they have to serve me . i get that

Actually, that's not true ... the Molnars found that out the hard way.

[Artofthedeal]

thank goodness we have the Human Rights Commissions in Canada and the millions upon millions of dollars of taxpayer money they cost to fund - how else could we sort out where we will get our hair cut? What a joke. That being said, this case represents a real conundrum for the Ontario HRC and commissar Barbara Hall, as it is like having to rule between two of their most favorite children. In almost every case, if you were a white straight person going up against a Muslim or a gay person, your goose was cooked the minute the complaint was filed - guilty before the investigation even began - your only real defense being what Macleans magazine, Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn were able to do - conduct a public shaming of the HRC for hearing such ludicrous claims in the first place, such that the HRC drops the claim to avoid further public embarrassment. But not everyone has access to these resources, and most people, like the Molnars, just take the punishment meted out by these kangaroo courts, after spending thousands of dollars trying to defend themselves, while all of our freedoms and rights continue to be frittered away in the name of political correctness.

So as I said, it will be interesting to see what the HRC does in this case as they will have to do some actual work, instead of just looking at the complainant and judging "guilty" before even starting the case. Who knows - perhaps as a result of this case, the HRC will start to crack down on real issues between woman and fundamentalist Islam, like honour killings, brutal beatings, and burqas. But that's a vain hope - wouldn't want to offend anybody now would we?

[Captain Awesome]

Too bad they didn't have a sense of humor. If I was there and this nutcase walked into the door, I'd say "Well, I don't usually do it, but if you insist..." and totally ruin her hair, dye it five different colors, shave half of it, and then say - "I told you I don't do women hair!".

[grammafreddy]

That woulda done it, CA

If the tribunal decides the barber shop can't discriminate against her, they can hire a female stylist to get around "men can't cut women's hair". The Molnar's didn't have that option when their business was in their own home. Will be interesting to see how this one pans out.

[sobrohusfat]

...u mean to tell me this woman cant get a buzz cut anywhere else in toronto ?? she picked a muslim barber . she is just trying to raise a stink .

exactly. Looks like she saw an easy opportunity to create something to moan about by antagonizing someone who was just minding their own business in a way they are entitled to in our country. These folks believe they aren't to come in physical contact with any woman outside their immediate family and they are running a business that would normally not put them in a position to compromise these views. They aren't imposing their beliefs on other barbers so even if I don't feel bound by any such restrictions (and would gladly give GF a hug if she needed one) i can respect their decisions in the same way i wouldn't expect a woman from a waxing salon to be obliged to give me a top to toe full body wax if she isn't comfortable with it.

...I'd simply go see if GF would be willing instead.