A Vancouver online rental listing is raising concerns for being racist and violating the human rights code.
The advertisement posted on Craigslist for a one-bedroom rental reads ‘No Indian!’ The posting was shared on social media and then deleted, only to post it later with the exclusion of the ’no Indian’ phrasing.
Vancouver-based lawyer Kyla Lee says the posting is discriminatory.
“I was shocked to see the post. It is blatantly discriminatory and blatantly contrary to the provisions of the B.C. Human Rights Code,” she says. “As a lawyer, I can’t imagine that anybody who posted an ad like that was familiar with the laws in B.C. surrounding discrimination and tenancy.”
A person responding to a cellphone number on the posting says they don’t regret the original phrasing in the online ad.
“I can’t live with a Indian,” they texted a Glacier Media reporter. “Why don’t you share your place with Indian?”
…
Lee says landlords are not allowed to discriminate against an individual based on their race.
“There are repercussions in the sense that if you filed a complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against the person who had posted the ad,” she says.
The person could be sanctioned by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, and could have to pay monetary compensation for discrimination.