Law Times

Law Times • JuLy 25, 2016 Page 3 www.lawtimesnews.com Lawyer alleges discrimination by LSUC security guard BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times A black lawyer alleges a security guard dis- criminated against him when he was trying to enter the Law Society of Upper Canada building recently. Selwyn Pieters says he was walking into Osgoode Hall to give his intern, Kevin Williams, a tour of the building on July 5, when a security guard ap- proached them at the entrance. The Toronto lawyer, who is in good standing with the LSUC and frequently attends events at the building, says there were a number of white members who entered immediately before and after him with little scrutiny. "This is the first time I've ex- perienced such aggressiveness and such intolerance," Pieters says of his experience at the law society. "We were denied access to a door that anybody really can walk through. I'm troubled by how the security guard con- ducted himself that day." When the security guard ap- proached them, Pieters identi- fied himself as a lawyer and pre- sented his LSUC identification card, which was expired. The security guard then grabbed the card out of his hand, Pieters says, and denied him access. "He saw someone that he de- termined couldn't possibly be a lawyer notwithstanding that person showed an ID card," Pieters says. Pieters then had to go across the hall to obtain a renewed mem- bership card. He then re-entered while another security guard was there and continued on the tour he had planned for Williams. Pieters says he was subjected to differential treatment based on race. "This security guard's con- duct in effect amounted to ra- cial profiling of a Black lawyer," Pieters wrote in a letter to the law society. Pieters says the security guard was rude and should have con- ducted himself more tactfully and diplomatically. "I was kind of taken aback in terms of if he is a regular, why is he being treated like that?" Wil- liams says. "Security is usually tight, yes, but at the same time I think there is usually a level of cour- tesy and etiquette when you're dealing with something — es- pecially if he's a member of the society and he's a lawyer." Since the incident, LSUC CEO Robert Lapper has met with both Pieters and Williams separately and assured them the incident would be investigated. Pieters says Lapper made him assurances that bias training would be given to staff, but the lawyer said he is still waiting for a written response to the letter he wrote concerning the incident. "I would want to wait and see a formal written response by the CEO of the law society before I contemplate what the resolution is and whether it's satisfactory," he says. He also demanded to see the video footage of the incident, but he says he has not been given a copy. In his meeting with Lap- per, Pieters says the CEO told him he had watched the footage and that the security guard did not recognize him. Pieters says he has been com- ing to the building often since 1998, when he worked as a regis- trar at the Divisional Court. In his letter, Pieters threat- ened to take the matter to the Human Rights Tribunal if the law society does not resolve the matter to his satisfaction. "The LSUC and its staff have to get it right when dealing with Black people," he wrote. "Treating a Black lawyer in good standing as an imposter is not acceptable." Pieters says he fears the inci- dent is a symptom of a deeper cultural problem at the law so- ciety. He says he hopes that the LSUC will move quickly to pro- vide more anti-racism training for its staff. "I don't blame the guard. It's not one bad apple. He ref lects the culture of the law society. That's how I feel," he says. In an e-mailed statement to Law Times, spokeswoman Orli Giroux Namian said the law so- ciety has standard protocols for entry to the law society's prem- ises that were followed. "While those protocols were followed on July 5, we regret that Mr. Pieters' experience in inter- acting with our security staff was not more positive," she said. She added that the law society has thorough anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training in place for all of its employees. "Mr. Pieters is a highly en- gaged member of the Law So- ciety, supporting many of our events and initiatives and we want that to remain the case and, more broadly, to provide a wel- coming experience for everyone with whom we interact," she said. Pieters also recommends the law society start having a card system that allows lawyers to ac- cess the building by simply tap- ping their card to an entry system such as the ones that have been implemented at courthouses in Hamilton and Brampton. These new card systems were installed after Pieters success- fully brought a claim against the Peel Law Association for a simi- lar incident in 2008. In that incident, Pieters said he was sitting in a lawyers' lounge at the Brampton Courthouse with another black lawyer, Brian Noble, and an articling student when a court librarian asked to see their IDs to make sure they were lawyers. She did not ask for identification from anyone else in the lounge at the time, accord- ing to a decision in the case. Pieters and Noble filed a com- plaint with the Human Rights Tribunal, which ruled the court officer's actions were discrimina- tory. The Divisional Court then dismissed the Human Rights Tribunal's finding, but it was re- affirmed at the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2013. Pieters says the new card sys- tem was installed soon after. LT NEWS Untitled-8 1 2016-07-15 12:19 PM Selwyn Pieters says a security guard racially profiled him when he visited the Law Society of Upper Canada recently.

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