Vancouver Sun

Taxi firm settles with blind man refused ride because of guide dog

Kelly Sinoski
Vancouver Sun

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Bruce Gilmour with his guide dog. Gilmour received a $2,500 settlement from North Shore Taxi because a Muslim taxi driver wouldn't pick them up.
CREDIT: Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun
Bruce Gilmour with his guide dog. Gilmour received a $2,500 settlement from North Shore Taxi because a Muslim taxi driver wouldn't pick them up.

A blind Vancouver man who was shunned by a taxi driver who didn't want a guide dog in his cab has reached a $2,500 settlement with North Shore Taxi.

Bruce Gilmour, 49, had called a cab from a West Vancouver coffee shop after a day of skiing in November 2006.

But North Shore Taxi driver Behzad Saidy, a Muslim, refused to transport Gilmour and his golden retriever Arden, saying he drove a no-pet cab. Saidy later said his religion prevents him from associating with dogs on the basis that they are "unclean," Gilmour said.

Gilmour, who has been blind for 30 years, filed a human rights complaint, alleging discrimination.

"I'm tired of defending my dignity," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Last Friday -- three days before a B.C. human rights tribunal hearing -- Gilmour reached a settlement with the taxi company that was issued as a tribunal order.

It attempts to balance the rights of blind people with guide dogs to obtain taxi service with the rights of a Muslim cab driver to follow his personal beliefs.

Gilmour said he will donate part of the monetary settlement to the Az-zahraa Islamic Centre in Richmond because of the help he received from Imam Syed Jaffir, who acted as an expert witness, and to B.C. Guide Dog Services. They will likely get $500 to $700 each, he said.

Under the terms of the settlement, North Shore Taxi was ordered to immediately establish a policy forbidding any driver to refuse a fare from a blind person accompanied by a certified guide dog.

The only exceptions are for drivers allergic to dogs and those who satisfy the company that they have an honest religious belief that precludes them from transporting certified guide dogs.

However, such drivers must call dispatch for the next available cab, give their name to the blind person and remain with them until the next cab arrives.

Anyone who breaches the policy will be suspended for two shifts for a first offence and be subject to termination for a second offence.

Blind people will not be required to inform dispatch of their disability.

"It's a landmark in my life," Gilmour said. "This is not binding with any other cab company, but if a person in White Rock or Coquitlam winds up in the same situation, my case will now raise the bar."

William Thornton, chief executive of B.C. Guide Dog Services, said Gilmour's experience was "all too common." There are about 150 guide dogs in B.C.

Gilmour, who uses taxis regularly, said he's been fighting discrimination since 1985 when he got his first guide dog.

He said he's had arguments with cabbies who've refused to allow the dog in their cars and has been passed by taxis as he waits on the curb.

"I'm humiliated and frustrated and it's an awkward position having to go into defending your rights because you're blind," Gilmour said.

North Shore Taxi officials were unavailable for comment Wednesday. Saidy, the cab driver, did not return calls.

Gilmour said he and his guide dog rarely encounter problems with other types of public transportation.

He's hoping the requirement that cabbies have to wait until another taxi is dispatched will make life easier for people with disabilities.

"My dog is well behaved and clean so what is the barrier here?" he said. "I just hope this arbitrary action will no longer prevail."