Refusing to use someone’s correct pronouns violates their human rights, Canada tribunal rules

A human rights tribunal in British Columbia, Canada, has ruled that refusing to use someone’s correct pronouns violates their human rights.

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ruled in favour of restaurant server Jessie Nelson, 32, a non‐binary, gender fluid, transgender person, who was fired from their job after asking the bar manager to use they/them pronouns to refer to them.

Brian Gobelle “persistently referred to Jessie Nelson with she/her pronouns and with gendered nicknames like ‘sweetheart’, ‘honey’, and ‘pinky'”, according to the ruling by Devyn Cousineau, member of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. 

Despite Nelson asking Gobelle to stop, he refused, and a second conversation between them about the issue became “heated”. Four days later, Nelson was fired by Ryan Kingsberry, who runs the restaurant. 

Cousineau agreed that Nelson’s human rights had been violated by the deliberate misgendering.

The judge ordered the Canada restaurant’s management to pay Nelson $30,000 in damages, as well as “implement a pronoun policy and mandatory training for all staff and managers about diversity, equity and inclusion”.

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