The Calgary Herald reported that a very curious thing
happened the other day in Vancouver, British Columbia. A gentleperson named
Andreas Kargut made a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal in British
Columbia because he claimed he was being discriminated against by the Board of
Directors of the condominium corporation
in which he owned a unit.
The Board of Directors of the condominium corporation was
composed of individuals who spoke Mandarin. The Board made a decision that it
would be in their best interests that the board meetings be conducted entirely
in Mandarin. Mr. Kargut took issue with us and asked the Board to
speak English; to which request the board refused. As a result of the refusal of the Board of
Directotrs, Mr. Kargut approached the Human Rights Tribunal and made a
complaint against the Board of Directors.
It is ironic that a white English-speaking individual
would approach the Human Rights Tribunal suggesting that he was discriminated against. However based on the multi-cultural (or
perhaps better stated ethnic-cultural) mosaic which has been built in Canada it
is not surprising to see ethnic minorities becoming ethnic majorities (at least
contextually) and now the proverbial “shoe is being worn on the other foot”. It will be interesting to see how this matter
is resolved by the Human Rights Tribunal.
It continues to be my understanding of the law in Alberta
that the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta does not have jurisdiction to deal
with complaints in respect of condominium corporations in Alberta. However this
may change given the rapidly changing political environment that we are
experiencing these days.
