'Makes you feel as if you're not valued as a person': Blind protesters target Cactus Club Café
Blind protesters, accompanied by their guide dogs, demonstrated outside a Vancouver Cactus Club Café on Wednesday, demanding better treatment from the restaurant chain.
The protesters told CTV News that Cactus Club is the only major eatery that insists on seeing proof that they are legally blind, and that their dogs are needed.
“Pretty much everyone here has been asked for paperwork, or ID,” said demonstrator Karim Damani outside the restaurant’s Broadway location.
He said that smaller establishments will ask for confirmation on occasion, but have never turned anyone away.
“Just even trying to find the restaurant, you know, is quite a daunting task,” said Damani.
“Then to be denied access and be treated in a demeaning manner like I'm not even a second-class, but a third-class citizen, it really takes away from us trying to, you know, live a normal life,” he said.
Fellow demonstrator Matt Salli agreed with Damani’s view.
“Makes you feel as if you're not valued as a person,” added Salli.
B.C.’s Human Rights Code makes it clear that all businesses must take reasonable steps to accommodate people with disabilities.
“A person with a disability who uses a guide dog or service dog should not be stopped or questioned unless there is a concern,” read the rules on the government’s website.
When CTV News contacted Cactus Club Café, the company confirmed that staff are no longer required to ask for ID, and that the policy will be enforced.
“Cactus Club Café welcomes all guests, including those with service dogs. Our service animal protocol is reviewed and updated regularly to ensure our practices align with the relevant legislation,” the company wrote in a statement.
“We are committed to ensuring our establishment and services are accessible and respectful to all, and we will continue to maintain and review our strategies to provide a welcoming environment for our guests.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Beautiful in its own way': New forest emerges in Jasper National Park, bringing protection and new opportunities
Charred stumps and the remains of fire-ravaged trees still cover large tracts of land on the Jasper landscape, but life is returning quickly down below.
Bloc Quebecois ready to extract gains for Quebec in exchange for supporting Liberals
The Bloc Québécois says its ready to wheel and deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party for support during confidence votes now that the Liberal government's confidence and supply agreement with the NDP has ended.
Dog mauled to death in B.C. yard after 3 pit bulls jump fence: police
A 12-year-old collie was killed by three pit bulls in the B.C. Interior Sunday morning, according to authorities.
video ‘Not checking out yet’: Woman with incurable cancer vows to keep fighting
Heather Appleton just renewed her passport for another ten years. “I’m not checking out yet,” said Appleton, 61, who has the incurable cancer, Multiple Myeloma.
Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
'It's morally wrong': A rural Alberta town reacts to homeless shelter closure
At the end of a side street in Slave Lake, Alta., Lynn Bowes looks at a grey job-site trailer with boarded-up windows and doors that once operated as her town's only homeless shelter.
Over 200 firearms seized in weapons investigation: Waterloo Regional Police
According to police, during a traffic stop in Waterloo, officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
Military surplus store in Calgary, destination of celebrity shoppers, closing doors
Cher, Anthony Hopkins, Heath Ledger, Alec Baldwin and Tom Hardy are just a few of the celebrities John Cumming met while growing up in his family's military surplus store.
Slide over salsa: K-pop takes socialist Cuba by storm
Socialist Cuba, the birthplace of salsa and other rhythms that have conquered the world, is now surrendering to the invasion of South Korean pop music.