Human rights complaint filed over trans bathroom in BC tribunal office

Jan 30 2019, 4:00 am

A BC woman is filing a human rights complaint against the BC Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT), claiming it “forced” a woman “to endure invasive, indecent and discriminatory assaults on their legally-protected rights” during a recent visit to the BCHRT office in Vancouver.

The woman, Langley resident Kari Simpson, said the “assault” came in the form of sign on the women’s washroom located on the fourth floor of the BCHRT office which reads: “Trans people welcome.”

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In the complaint, Simpson writes that the BCHRT “ought to have known” that by including the words ‘Trans people welcome” on the women’s washroom sign, “biological males who seek to appropriate a female identity would predictably use abuse this ‘welcome’ and deliberately violate on the rights of women/females. And of course this did happen.”

Simpson is the executive director of Culture Guard, a group which has staged anti-SOGI protests in the past, and according to its website, “works to ensure that our nation’s statutes and concepts of ‘community values’ used by agencies will reflect and protect the natural family, parental rights, the sanctity of life, liberty, respect, judicial accountability and the proper rule of law.”

The complaint was filed after a member of Culture Guard used the facilities at the BCHRT and noted the stall next to her was occupied as well.

Shortly thereafter, “she heard a loud male voice” talking to other people in the washroom, and recognized the voice to be that of Morgane Oger – a Vancouver transgender activist and BC NDP candidate in the last provincial election.

The incident “was disturbing and distressing,” the complaint reads. “Her security of a person was violated, she remained in the stall until she was certain that the biological man, Oger, had gone for fear of being bullied.”

Simpson said in a release that “this assault on women’s rights must end. Men wearing puppy dog ears/tails, pony gear, wigs and/or lipstick, chemically and cosmetically altering their appearance and self-declaring themselves to be a dog, a pony or a woman does not change their biological reality of being a human male.”

BCHRT “knowingly discriminated” complaint claims

The complaint alleges that the BCHRT “knowingly discriminated” against women, since “they knew (or should have known) that biological males would access, under the guise of being ‘trans,’ what should be a safe place for women—and they did.”

Simpson said she will also be calling on the BC Health Minister and the Minister overseeing children in the care of the government to stop funding to any facility, clinic, hospital or professional venue that permits patients to believe they can alter their biological reality.

“Men suffering from delusion, gender dysphoria, fantasy, nefarious intention, or simply addicted to a hyper-sexualized kinky game of female dress-up, among other factors, do not get to trample on my rights… to security of the person, privacy, dignity, decency, and services directly affected by my protected rights as a female,” she added. “It’s time to end this dangerous game of lunacy.”

In the complaint, Simpson said she would like to see, among other things, an apology from the BCHRT to “all members” of Culture Guard, all washroom/change room signage inviting use by Trans people or similar wording to be removed and replaced with Women Only or Men Only wording, an amendment to the BC Human Rights Code to define Gender identity and gender Expression as “cosmetic, costume, or outward projection of a person,” and a combined total of $180,000 in damages.

“A free and civil society respects any individual’s right to free expression, but those rights end where another’s begin,” said Simpson. “It’s time to stop lying to people—especially children.”

Oger: Complaint an “escalation of hatred”

Speaking to Daily Hive about the case on Tuesday afternoon, Oger said the situation is a “clear example of the consequences of allowing the incitement of hatred to happen in BC. ”

Simpson, she furthered, “is amplifying this message of hate.”

And while Oger said Simpson might “feel justified” in her actions, “this is a person who basically is a vexatious litigant.”

Asked if she was concerned at all by filing of the complaint, Oger responded “not in the slightest.”

Morgane Oger mayor

Morgane Oger/ Facebook

Rather, she feels sorry “for the people who listen [to Simpson] and I hope that people like law enforcement are keeping a close eye on this. I see this as an escalation of hatred and I don’t expect her and her friends to stop at just legal challenges.”

Simpson, said Oger, “informs the ideas of tens of thousands of British Columbians and I think it’s important to remember that she’s telling others that people like me have no place in a space where we actually have a space.”

“My concern about this is the same as it’s always been,” said Oger. “Incidents like this are going to cause violence.”

Eric ZimmerEric Zimmer

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