Around Town: Human Rights win, Numb, Laing Lectures . . .

Bethany Paquette has been awarded damages for injury to her 'dignity and self-respect' by the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

The BC Human Rights Tribunal has awarded damages to Bethany Paquette for injury to her ‘dignity and self-respect.’

The BC Human Rights Tribunal has awarded $8,500 to a Christian job applicant after finding that a wilderness adventure tour company injured her “dignity and self-respect.” The case gained considerable media attention in the fall of 2014 when Bethany Paquette filed a complaint alleging that Norway-based Amaruk Wilderness Corp. and its co-CEO Christopher Fragassi-Bjornsen had discriminated against her.

“The essence of the Complaint,” according to the Reasons for Decision handed down by the tribunal March 2, “is that, when Ms. Paquette applied for an Assistant Guide Internship in the summer of 2014, Amaruk refused to hire her in part because she had obtained her undergraduate degree from Trinity Western University (“TWU”) thus denying her an employment opportunity, and that the Respondents engaged in harassment of Ms. Paquette on the basis of her religion.”

Amaruk officials rejected Paquette’s job application, and also sent her several offensive emails.

Tribunal Member Norman Trerise stated:

. . . I find that the emails of Amaruk’s staff, including Mr. Fragassi-Bjornsen, particularly those of September 14, 2014, religiously harassed Ms. Paquette. . . .

I find that both Amaruk, through its employee’s actions, and Mr. Fragassi-Bjornsen have discriminated against Ms. Paquette on the ground of religion by harassing her for her presumed religious beliefs and declining to accept her application for an internship, in part because of those beliefs.

For the full 27-page decision go here.

Paquette’s lawyer, Geoffrey Trotter responded in this way:

Today’s decision is a victory for Bethany and for equal treatment for everyone, regardless of their beliefs or background. The tribunal has given a clear ruling that refusing to hire someone on the basis of their religious beliefs or because they attended a religious university is illegal discrimination. In addition, the tribunal found that the “vitriolic” rejection emails sent to Bethany also constituted “egregious” religious harassment.

Damages were awarded to Paquette in the amount of $8,500 for injury to dignity and self-respect, with $661.08 for reimbursement of expenses incurred in this proceeding. No damages were awarded for wage loss.

Fragassi-Bjornsen had not participated in the tribunal hearing since last fall, after he was denied requests to be asked questions in French and to have a security detail. A long, outraged statement dated from that time on the Amaruk website begins this way:

The trampling of our fundamental human rights, and those of other Canadian and European citizens, by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, under various legislation in Canada and abroad, has reached a scope and proportions we have never previously experienced in any other developed country.

The following excerpt from our October 9, 2014 article (by Lloyd Mackey) provides some detail on the content of offending emails:

Bethany and her lawyer, Geoffrey Trotter, have posted the emails from Olaf Amundsen and Amaruk co-CEO Christopher Fragassi-Bjornsen. Among Amundsen’s quotes – and Bethany’s responses:

“Unlike Trinity Western University, we embrace diversity and the right of people to sleep with or marry whoever they want.” (Bethany’s response: “My beliefs have developed who I am as an individual, but they don’t come into play when I am doing my job.”)
“The Norse background of most of the guys at the management level means that we are not a Christian organization, and most of us actually see Christianity as having destroyed our culture, tradition and way of life.” (Ironically, the Christian denomination that founded TWU – the Evangelical Free Church – has deep roots in Norwegian and Swedish culture. Bethany wrote to Amundsen that the Norse people chose Christianity.)
“In asking students to refrain from same-sex relationships, Trinity Western University, and any person associated with it, has engaged in discrimination.” . . .

Amundsen’s email was followed by one from Fragassi-Bjornsen. Among his quotes:

“Trinity Western University believes that two men loving each other is wrong . . . we believe a man ending up with another man is probably the best thing that could happen to him.
“But we do not force these views onto other people, and we are completely fine if a guy decided to go the emasculation route by marrying a BC woman.”

Bethany, for her part, says: “They had never even met me and never talked to me in person and they just assumed all these things . . . and found it okay to attack me.”

Following the March 2 decision, Trotter added:

Bethany has been vindicated and has achieved her objective of ensuring that her friends from Trinity Western and other religious communities don’t go through what she has been through.

The Human Rights Tribunal has sent a very clear message to all prospective employers: discrimination is wrong and illegal no matter which minority group is involved, and that as Canadians, we embrace diversity, which includes many different faith communities.

Trotter said Paquette is currently working in the far North running dog sled tours.

Numb in theatres

Jason Goode’s first full-length feature film, Numb, was a top 5 pick at the Whistler Film Festival in December, and was released across Canada in Landmark Theatres March 2 as part of the Canadian Indie Film Series. It will be running March 4 – 10 in local theatres.

Numb tells the story of a couple in financial distress who discover GPS coordinates that promise to lead to stolen gold; they must partner with a pair of mysterious hitchhikers to enter the remote winter wilderness to recover the coins.

Amy Anderson interviewed Jason Goode, a Regent College alumnus, about making the film; following is a brief portion:

Amy Anderson: What led you to make Numb?

Jason Goode: Any time you try to get a feature film made, you have to ask yourself, “am I willing to spend the next four years on this?” I first received the draft for Numb about five years ago. It was about a couple who had just gone through financial catastrophe and were struggling through that together. At the time, my wife Christie and I had just gone through a similar financial ordeal, so I really resonated with the couple in the film. I could see the temptation to venture out into the wilderness in search of something that might solve all your problems.

As I look back, all of my films reflect the dance of intimacy between people who are thrust together in a situation in which they wouldn’t normally interact. Those kinds of situations are always fascinating to me. It’s fun to play with those expectations, those characters and their interactions.

For the full interview go here.

Laing Lectures

Iain McGilchrist will deliver the Laing Lectures at Regent College March 9 – 10.

Every year, Regent College hosts the Laing Lectures; this year the featured speaker will be Iain McGilchrist, psychiatrist and renowned author of The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.

Following is a description of the three-lecture God, the Brain and Paradox series, which will take place March 9 – 10:

Over the past few centuries, argues Iain McGilchrist, Western culture has favoured a rational, fact-driven approach to analyzing the world, at the expense of a big-picture analysis that incorporates metaphor, paradox, and experiential knowledge. What are the implications of this imbalance for our contemporary culture? How does it affect our understanding of faith, truth and creativity?

All lectures will be held at Regent College Chapel: Where Shall I Go for Truth (March 9, 7:30 pm); What Brains Can and Can’t Teach Us About God (March 10, 11:30 am); and The Power of No (March 10, 7:30 pm).

Laing lecturers have been a distinguished lot over the years: Neil Postman (2000), Charles Taylor (2001), Peter Berger (2002), Margaret Visser (2004), Miroslav Volf (2006), Nicholas Wolterstorff (2007), Walter Brueggemann (2008), Susan Wise Bauer (2010), Albert Borgmann (2011), Rex Murphy (2012), Dr. Ellen T. Charry (2013), and Ross Douthat (2014). Next year Marilynne Robinson will be here.

Catholic-Evangelical Conversation

Jeff Greenman and Jeff Salkeld led an encouraging conversation at Coastal Church.

The Catholic-Evangelical Conversation took place March 1 at Coastal Church, as part of the Vancouver Consultation. I was there to hear Dr Jeff Greenman of Regent College, Dr Ray Bakke of Bakke Associates, and Dr Brett Salkeld of the Archdiocese of Regina relate warmly and respectfully as they discussed a number of areas of cooperation and continuing distance between the two streams of Christianity.

I will address the event next week, when the video recording of the event is available. In the meantime, suffice it to say that the event was very successful – not least because I ended the evening chatting with a couple of senior Catholic priests (and Salkeld) across the street at Tim Horton’s.

Mar 2016

Apr 2016

God's Not Dead 2 – April 1, 2016 at All Day
Vancouver Retrouvaille: A Lifeline for Marriages – April 1, 2016 - April 3, 2016 at All Day
Dr. Barry Pointon: The Human-Haunted Cosmos – April 1, 2016 at 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Journey Home Community: Annual Celebration Event – April 1, 2016 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Coalmont – April 1, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Paul Taylor: Mount St. Helens – A Message for Today – April 1, 2016 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Church Library Association of BC Conference 2016 – April 2, 2016 at All Day
Gather – April 2, 2016 at 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Paul Taylor: How Old is the Earth? – April 2, 2016 at 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Paul Taylor: No Compromise – April 2, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Panic Squad: A Live Comedy Event – April 2, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
North Shore Chorus: Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle – April 2, 2016 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

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1 comment for “Around Town: Human Rights win, Numb, Laing Lectures . . .”

Nanna Holmberg says:

May 28, 2020 at 1:01 am

Chinese head of state Xi Jinping made his first official visit to Myanmar (Burma) on Friday, where he met with State Councillor and de facto leader of the country Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and the Burmese military’s infamous commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Although it was Jinping’s first visit since assuming office, the occasion marked 70 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries and signifies a continued mutual desire to unite their economic and strategic interests. A total of 33 agreements were signed to speed up China-backed development projects in Myanmar and bolster the China-Myanmar-Economic-Corridor; a vital component of the wider Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.

Both countries have track records of serious state-sponsored human rights abuses, and share an increasing disdain for and distancing from the West. With the tantalising promise of economic prosperity, has China got Myanmar under its thumb, and will development come at the expense of human rights.

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