City settles human rights complaint filed by senior Handi-Transit users

The City of Winnipeg hassettleda human rights complaint filed on behalf of senior Handi-Transit users who paid more than seniors using regular bus serviceprior to June 2014.

Council has approved a settlement of as much as$310,000 to compensatesenior Handi-Transit users who paid undiscounted fares during an 18-month period before Handi-Transit and Winnipeg Transit harmonized their rates.

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In 2011, disability advocate Jim Derksen filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, arguing the city's policy not to extend a seniorsdiscount to Handi-Transit clients was discriminatory.

Senior citizens using Winnipeg Transit could ride at a reduced rate, but the city didn't extendtheseniorsdiscount to Handi-Transit users until 2014, a city spokesman said.

That year, the city equalized its transit rates, extending the seniorsdiscount to Handi-Transit users.

The Manitoba Human Rights Commission said it began investigating the case after its board of commissioners found evidence to support the alleged discrimination Derksen complained about.

The commission scheduled an adjudication hearing for September but told the CBC it expectedthe case to be resolved.

Executive policy committee approved the tentative settlement at a closed-door special meeting on Tuesday. The settlement will not compensate the estates of deceased transit users.

The deal marksthe first time a discriminationsettlement in Manitoba willcompensateevery person impacted by the discrimination, theManitoba Human Rights Commission declared in a statement.

"The resolution will enable every senior impacted to be credited for the non-discounted fare paid in the past, based on the number of trips they actually took during the relevant period," the commission stated, crediting Derksenfor his efforts on behalf of all senior Handi-Transit users.

'It's a rights issue'

Clare Simpson, 68, has relied on Handi-Transit to get around during the winter months for the last 10 years.

She said she didn't know there was a difference in rates until Derksen's complaint was lodged in 2011 and word started travelling around the disabled community.

"I thought, 'This isn't fair,'" she said. "It's a rights issue."

Winnipeg city council minutes from July 20, 2011, warned the Human Rights Commission might rule the absence of a discount for seniors discriminatory.

The minutes mention a 2007 complaint lodged against the City of Regina, which resulted in a settlement in 2008 and a change in policy. The minutes list seven other Canadian cities that extended discounts to paratransit services.

A city spokesperson said 73 per cent of all Handi-Transit riders last year were seniors. Extending the discount has come at a cost of lost revenue to the city.

In 2011, city staffers pegged the cost of equalizing transit rates at a whopping $240,000 per year.