(A letter to The Vancouver Sun by Doris Belusic,)

Re: Taxis can snub service animals, Oct. 20

Jacqueline Beltgens of B.C. Human Rights Tribunal says Graeme McCreath was only “inconvenienced,” when a Victoria Taxi driver denied him service and called a second cab to pick him up. Was Rosa Parks only “inconvenienced” by being shunted to the back of the bus, even though it would arrive at her destination the same time as the front? McCreath was discriminated against, plain and simple.

At the hearing McCreath supplied proof of certification of his guide dog and of his blindness. In contrast, the taxi company lacked any specific dog allergy proof, even stating that some drivers just don’t want to take dogs. Yet the tribunal found the taxi driver’s evidence sufficient to dismiss McCreath’s case. Beltgens defied reason and endorsed discriminatory practices of Victoria Taxi, setting blind people’s equal access rights back decades. Beltgens and the Human Rights Tribunal didn’t “get” what discrimination is.