The Christian owners of a bed and breakfast in the B.C. Interior have been ordered to pay $4,500 to a gay man and his boyfriend after refusing to rent them a room.

Vancouver resident Shaun Eadie and his partner Brian Thomas filed a human rights complaint in June 2009 shortly after their reservation at the Riverbend Bed and Breakfast in Grand Forks was abruptly cancelled.

Eadie, who was planning a trip with Thomas to visit his aunt, phoned the Riverbend to book a room after finding the lodging online, and towards the end of the conversation was told “you have not told me the name of your wife,” according to a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision posted online Tuesday.

“Brian,” Eadie answered.

Five minutes after the conversation ended, he was called back and asked about his sexuality. Eadie was then told that the bed and breakfast could not accommodate them.

The owners and operators of the Riverbend, retired married couple Susan and Les Molnar, both testified to holding strong evangelical religious convictions that guided their business practices.

They hosted Bible study groups inside the Riverbend, where they also lived, and practiced tithing, according to the decision. Mr. Molnar also said the couple regularly prayed that their guests would not behave in ways that might offend God.

“He described one incident in which he thought they had rented to a married couple, but then discovered that the individuals were not married,” tribunal member Enid Marion wrote. “He testified that if they had known ahead of time, they would not have allowed the couple to book the room.”

But while brochures for the bed and breakfast and a sign posted in Grand Forks featured a “Jesus fish” symbol, the website accessed by Eadie and Thomas made no mention of religion.

Eadie also testified that when he eventually saw the symbol, he associated it with fishing, not God.

Mr. Molnar, who called the couple back after their reservation was made to tell them “I don’t think it is going to work,” claimed that he was prepared to discuss alternative options – perhaps allowing the couple to sleep in different beds – when Eadie loudly exclaimed “Wow,” and hung up.

Marion rejected the claim as unbelievable, however, adding that there’s no reason to assume that separate beds would have prevented sexual contact in the room.

“The fact is that thecomplainants were not offered any alternative accommodation, and the Molnars took no steps to communicate any offer of alternate accommodation to them,” she wrote.

The tribunal found that the Molnars’ religion did not exempt their business from aspects of the Human Rights Code because the couple is not forced to share sleeping, bathroom or cooking facilities with their guests.

And Marion found their claim that they had never considered the possibility of hosting homosexuals at their home and were unprepared to deal with the situation was irrelevant.

“There is no requirement that there be any intention to discriminate in order for there to be a breach of the Code,” she said.

Eadie and Thomas testified that their treatment reminded them of the bullying and bigotry they had experienced throughout their young lives, and left them angry and emotional.

They were awarded $1,500 each in damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self respect, as well as $850 combined in lost wages and $340 each for travel expenses incurred to attend the tribunal hearing in Kelowna.

The Riverbend was closed in 2009 and has not reopened since.