Human Rights Complaint Filed by Man Denied Priority Medical Boarding for B.C. Ferries Sailing

A human rights complaint has been filed against B.C. Ferries by Roger Chin who was denied priority medical boarding for a sold-out sailing in August 2019. The complaint was filed on the basis of discrimination based on Chin’s disabilities, which included a brain injury that made travel “very difficult, especially in the summer heat.”

Accessibility Programs Offered by B.C. Ferries

At the time of the incident, B.C. Ferries had several programs to support accessibility for passengers. These programs include:

• Travel Assistance Program
• 50% Discount Fare Card for Medical Escorts
• Medical Assured Loading

The travel assistance program offered subsidized or free transport for eligible people travelling for medical care, and a 50% discount fare card for those needing medical escorts. Medical assured loading provided priority to those seeking urgent medical care and who would otherwise experience discomfort or difficulty waiting extended periods.

Denied Priority Boarding Despite Medical Assured Loading and Travel Assistance Forms

On Aug. 18, 2019, Chin went to the Departure Bay terminal in Nanaimo but was denied medical assured loading even after showing his doctor’s note and a supporting travel assistance program form, which he had done without issue many times before. “The B. C. Ferries staff denied Mr. Chin assured loading because he did not have a medical assured loading letter issued by B. C. Ferries,” read the tribunal decision. “Mr. Chin says that it was hot that day, and he could not wait for the next ferry. He says that, after he was denied boarding, he had a ‘medical crisis and needed to escape.'”

Expansion of Accessibility Programs Since the Pandemic

Tribunal vice chair Devyn Cousineau noted in her decision that since the pandemic, B.C. Ferries had expanded their accessibility programs to include non-emergency travellers such as Chin. However, this alone did not fully address the remedies he sought, and ordered a hearing be scheduled.

“It is an express purpose of the Code to ensure that people who have been discriminated against have access to a remedy,” she wrote. “B. C. Ferries does not explain how it has addressed the discrimination that Mr. Chin alleges that he suffered; indeed, it denies that there was any discrimination — as it is entitled to do. In my view, notwithstanding the systemic changes that have taken place since Mr. Chin filed his complaint, it furthers the Code’s purposes to allow Mr. Chin to advance his complaint and seek a personal remedy.”

Conclusion

The human rights complaint filed by Roger Chin will proceed to a hearing. The tribunal decision stated that B.C. Ferries did not explain how it has addressed the discrimination against Mr. Chin, and the expansion of accessibility programs since the pandemic did not fully address the remedies he sought.

Originally Post From https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/bc-human-rights-tribunal-bc-ferries-medical-access-boarding

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