B.C. tribunal allows complaint alleging sexual harassment on HandyDART bus to go to hearing
A B.C. tribunal is allowing a complaint alleging a HandyDART driver sexually harassed a passenger to proceed.
The decision to allow the complaint to go ahead, published by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal last week, said a unnamed woman who uses a wheelchair claimed a HandyDART driver made inappropriate sexual comments and "invited her to sexual contact" in October 2019.
HandyDART is a service offered by some transit operators, like B.C. Transit and TransLink, that provides door-to-door transportation for people requiring mobility assistance. In this instance, B.C. Transit has a contract with another local transit company to operate HandyDART in the unspecified community.
The decision explained once the complainant gets on the bus, she is locked in and can't move until someone unlocks her chair and unbuckles her seatbelt for her.
"She submits that she was trapped into a secured wheelchair and was unable to move without assistance while on the bus," tribunal member Grace Chen wrote in her decision.
"She says she was vulnerable to the harassment due to her disability, and was trapped on the bus with the driver because of her disability."
According to the tribunal's decision, the complainant filed a grievance to B.C. Transit after the incident and was interviewed by a general manager. The tribunal heard that police investigated the incident, and decided no charges would be laid.
After being interviewed, the complainant said she didn't hear from the transit operator for several months, until she was told through a staff member at her residence that she had to ride with an attendant – at her own expense – if using HandyDART.
A general manager for the company operating the buses claimed the woman "made similar accusations against other people," which is why she was asked to use the service with an attendant.
Meanwhile, the woman alleged, the company wanted her "to sign an agreement stating that her complaint was false." Instead, she filed another complaint to B.C. Transit but didn't get a response.
"The complainant has not used HandyDART since February 2020, and uses public buses and taxis instead," Chen wrote.
"She says it is not because of the pandemic, but because she is afraid to run into the driver, and she feels humiliated and angry about what happened. She says she struggles to use the public bus service because of her wheelchair."
B.C. Transit requested the human rights complaint be dismissed, saying while it had a contract with the company operating HandyDART, it doesn't run the service itself. But the complainant said B.C. Transit "plays a role in delivering the service," and that her file was handled both by the HandyDART operator and the Crown corporation.
Chen wrote in her decision that B.C. Transit didn't persuade her the complainant won't be able to show a connection between the transit companies. While she said it doesn't mean the woman's human rights complaint will be successful, it's permitted to go to a hearing.
The allegations made by the complainant about the driver's actions have not been proven in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.