Alberta Human Rights Commission dismisses Edmonton mask complaints

The Alberta Human Rights Commission has dismissed a pair ofcomplaints filed by two men who say they were discriminated against when they didn't wear masksinside retail stores last fall.

One incident took place at a Costco store last Novemberand the other at a Peoples Jewellers store in October.

The decisions were releasedAug. 16, 2021, signed by Michael Gottheil, chief of the commission and tribunals.

In both cases, Gottheil found the companies were reasonable ininsisting customers and employees wear masks to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Nov. 17, 2020, Peter Szeles went into a Costco in Edmonton and toldstaff he had a disability that exempted him from wearing a face mask.

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An employee suggested Szeles could wear a face shield instead, but he refused. Szeles argued that a face shield was stigmatizing, was meant to single him out as a person with a disability and would subject him to humiliation.

An altercation ensued, the police were called over and Szeles was removed from the store, the written decision says.

A clip of the interaction is also posted on Szeles's Facebook page. The videoshows Szeles on his knees, refusing to stand up and leave the store, with two officers carrying him out and putting him in a police van.

WATCH | Police remove Szeles from the Costco:

Man arrested in Edmonton Costco after refusing to wear mask

3 years ago

Duration 1:53

In November 2020, Peter Szeles was arrested in an Edmonton Costco following an altercation that occured after the man refused to wear a mask inside the store. Szeles' complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission was dismissed in August 2021.

Costco submitted several arguments in response to Szeles's complaint, including that it provided appropriate alternatives, like the option towear a face shieldin the store and various online shopping and home delivery options.

In the second case, James Beaudin was blocked from entering a Peoples Jewellers store in Edmonton. He saidhealth reasons prevented him from wearing a mask.

The store staff pointed out alternatives, including phone and online shopping, with free delivery or curb-side pickup. Beaudin objected, but the store staff was firm, and hewas told to leave, the written decision says.

Balance of rights

Jessica Eisen, a University of Alberta law professor specializing in human rights, said the commission's decisions are understandable based on the Alberta Human Rights Act.

According to thedecisions, the companies showed they were responding in good faith to the seriousness of the pandemic, she said.

"They presented lots of evidence to the effect that there was a really good reason for these policies they were needed to protect their employees and to protect the other customers in the stores," she said.

Eisen said human rights laws are based on balance.

"I think a lot of people are under the misconception that human rights acts and codes generally protect people's right to do whatever they want in all circumstances," Eisen said. "In fact, human rights laws are designed to protect fundamental interests in a range of circumstances."

Discrimination on the basis of race, religion and disability is covered in human rights legislation, but in these cases, businesses showed they were trying to do the right thing in protecting people's health while providing options to customers, she said.

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The two decisions areamong more than 100 complaints the Alberta Human Rights Commission has received since March 2020 related to mandatory masks and vaccines.Cam Stewart, a spokesperson with the HRC, said the commission has accepted themas formal complaints and isin the process of reviewing them.

Most complaintsare resolved in conciliation, investigation or at the director's office before going to a tribunal hearing, he noted.

While investigators are going through the complaints process, the details of the complaints areconfidential, Stewart said.

@natashariebe