Law Times

Law Times • December 12, 2016 Page 5 www.lawtimesnews.com Lawyer requests expedited hearing LSUC to fight racism allegations, says no discrimination BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times T he Law Society of Up- per Canada has asked for the dismissal of a human rights com- plaint alleging that one of its se- curity guards racially profiled a black lawyer. The law society recently filed a response to Toronto lawyer Selwyn Pieters' Human Rights Tribunal complaint, which al- leged a security guard discrimi- nated against him based on race when he entered the building in July. In its response, the law so- ciety denied the allegations of racial profiling and discrimi- nation, saying Pieters did not experience "adverse treatment," but if he did, it was not because of race. "The Law Society submits that there has been no discrimi- nation against Mr. Pieters," the law society said in its submission. Pieters says that the law so- ciety's response confirms the matter will likely be litigated before a tribunal, as he has re- quested an expedited hearing. He adds that mediation is un- likely to be successful given the circumstances. "He did not believe I belonged at the law society and treated me that way," Pieters says of the se- curity guard. "No amount of le- gal gymnastics can change that reality. "That is a situation where I was discriminated against." Pieters has said that a security guard stopped him as he was en- tering the law society to give an intern a tour of the building on July 5. He claimed that when he pre- sented his identification card, which was expired, the secu- rity guard grabbed it and denied him access. He said the security guard treated him like an "im- poster." Pieters, who was wearing shorts and a T-shirt at the time, then went across the hall to ob- tain a renewed card in order to enter. Pieters said there were a number of white members who entered immediately before him and faced no scrutiny. He said he was subjected to differential treatment based on race. The LSUC, however, denied that the security guard acted in an aggressive fashion. The law society contended that the guard moved toward Pieters, as an initial presenta- tion of his identification was hard to verify, as the lawyer was moving. As the guard reached him, Pieters presented his card a sec- ond time and said, "I'm a fucking lawyer," according to the law so- ciety's submissions. The security guard then told him the card had expired in 2015 and that he would need to keep it, at which point Pieters went to renew the card. The entire encounter lasted 35 seconds and the security guard followed standard proce- dures, according to the LSUC. The law society claimed the only reason the security guard had stopped Pieters was to check his membership card to confirm his identity and verify the expiry date, and not because of race. When licensees cannot provide an "Approved Iden- tification Card," their status is verified using an electronic database, and guards are also required to keep expired cards, the LSUC said. In a letter to Pieters, LSUC CEO Robert Lapper said he re- viewed video footage of the in- cident and said that the people who were not checked by the security guard were law society staff members, who have identi- fication cards that automatically open the door. In a reply to the law society's response, Pieters rejected the law society's version of events and said that the security guard's "aggressive tone and demean- our, lacked dignity, respect, fairness, integrity and equity to- wards" him. "I was stereotyped by the Se- curity Guard and he acted on those stereotypes," he said. Piet- ers says that the security guard did not follow the law society's own protocols as he did not let the lawyer provide another form of identification, nor did he con- sult an electronic database to confirm his identity. Pieters said he has concerns that the incident is a symptom of a deeper cultural problem at the law society. "It's become a toxic place for me," he says. Pieters has requested $75,000 in damages and has asked that the HRTO order the law soci- ety to provide anti-black racism training to its staff. The law society has said it provides its staff with extensive anti-discrimination and anti- harassment training. In an emailed statement to Law Times, LSUC spokeswom- an Orli Giroux Namian said the law society takes the allegations Pieters made extremely serious- ly. She added that the law society met with Pieters and his intern after the incident. "With regard to each and every allegation made by Mr. Pieters, we have concluded that all Law Society staff has at all times acted appropriately and according to existing policies," she said. "Now Mr. Pieters has put his allegations before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and we are confident that there will be a positive resolution in this very public transparent and in- clusive forum." LT NEWS Selwyn Pieters says the law society's response to his allegation that he was racially profiled by a security guard will likely be litigated before a tribunal. law.utoronto.ca/ExecutiveLLM GPLLM Global Professional Master of Laws [Get a Master of Laws] Because business issues are legal issues. So if you want to get ahead in business, get the degree that gets you there faster. ONE YEAR – PART - TIME – NO THESIS – FOR L AWYERS AND NON - LAWYERS Untitled-8 1 2015-03-02 11:15 AM

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