On January 28, the BC Human Rights Tribunal
("BCHRT") issued a landmark decision
granting the largest award for injury to dignity in BC's
history. The complainant, Levan Francis, was a former corrections
officer for the Province who experienced discrimination based on
his race and colour during his employment. This discrimination
caused Mr. Francis' mental and physical health to deteriorate
and forced him to leave his job. The BCHRT awarded him $964,000 in
damages; $176,000 of which was allocated to injury to dignity
– the full decision is available here.
Mr. Francis' path to this unprecedented award was long and
arduous – he filed his complaint in 2012 and left his
employment in 2013, but the decision finding he was discriminated
against was not reached until July 2019. During this time, his
experiences at North Fraser Pre-trial Centre continued to haunt
him. Stereotyped as lazy and slow, he was singled out by his
supervisors and referred to as a "Lazy Black Man"
