A young BC man had a miserable time in high school being harassed
by his fellow students who targeted him as being a homosexual. He was
not, in fact, gay and evidence showed that his classmates knew that. The
BC Human Rights Tribunal concluded that he had been discriminated
against on the basis of sexual orientation and that his School Board was
responsible. The Board successfully appealed this decision, the judge
ruling that since Mr Jubran was not homosexual, and the other students
did not believe he was homosexual despite their taunts, there was no
discrimination. Mr Jubran took his case to the BC Court of Appeal. It
asked the question: "Must a person who complains of discriminatory
harassment on the basis of sexual orientation actually be homosexual or
perceived by his harassers to be homosexual?" The Court wrote that
discrimination can occur as a matter of perception as well as fact. In
this case, the effect on the student was the same. Justice Levine cited
with approval "... the Supreme Court of Canada's articulation
of the importance of a discrimination-free school environment and the
duty of the School Board to provide it. That environment is mandated by
the special position educational institutions occupy in fostering the
values of our society and by the Code [Human Rights Code of BC], which
requires those who provide services to the public to do so in a
non-discriminatory way, so as to foster the full participation of
individuals in the life of British Columbia, in a climate of
understanding, mutual respect and equality of dignity and rights."
The Court of Appeal reinstated the decision of the Human Rights
Tribunal.
School District No. 44 (North Vancouver) v. Jubran, 2005 BCCA 201
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