[nagdu] Fwd: [Gduc-friends] FW: Woman with guide dog refused service at Toronto restaurant

Sat Jul 4 00:06:27 UTC 2015

The important thing to me is that she only makes a fuss about this sort of
thing about 30% of the time. I think that's about right for me as well.
People think this is an unusual occurance, but after using guide dogs for
over 40 years, it seems to me that it is only getting worse. In '71, New
Jersey didn't have a state law, it was handled by the local municipalities.
We had to wander around to figure out which municipality we were in and then
contact them, but the police knew the law and made it clear to the
businesses that guide dogs were allowed. Now, we have to do all of the
research and write up a tome for DOJ, which they say they'll respond to in
three months, but which took - in my case - most of a year. Then, the fun
begins with trying to work through the mediation process.

While the ADA has come into play, we have also undergone a lot of social
changes, and there are issues now that I never heard of years ago. There is
a problem with a lack of understanding about where the line between
religious freedom and discrimination is. We've seen this discussed in the
news of late with regard to the rights of same-sex couples in the US to
frequent florists, bakeries etc. Some business owners claim it is their
right to practice their religion by refusing customers with service dogs, as
well. My understanding is that for all of us, when you open a business, you
accept the public as we are. IMO, anyone who has a problem dealing with the
public as we are should get a desk job.
Donna & Hunter

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Dierckens
via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2015 8:34 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Matthew Dierckens
Subject: [nagdu] Fwd: [Gduc-friends] FW: Woman with guide dog refused
service at Toronto restaurant

Hi all,
Take a look at this article from two months ago. Thoughts?

God bless.
Matthew Dierckens
Certified Assistive Technology Specialist Macintosh, Windows and IOS
Trainer U.S. number: 573-401-1018 Personal Email: matt.dierckens at me.com

Begin forwarded message:

From: Devon Wilkins <theharness at bell.net>
Subject: [Gduc-friends] FW: Woman with guide dog refused service at Toronto
restaurant
Date: July 2, 2015 at 20:23:29 EDT
To: friendsofgduc at gduc.ca
Reply-To: Guide Dog Users of Canada's peer support forum
<gduc-friends at lists.gduc.ca>

Hi, everyone.  John Rae sent this to me, and I thought residents of Toronto
would be particularly interested in reading it.  Devon.

From: John [mailto:thepenguin at rogers.com <mailto:thepenguin at rogers.com>]
Sent: July-02-15 3:31 PM
To: John
Subject: Woman with guide dog refused service at Toronto restaurant

                Woman with guide dog refused service at Toronto restaurant

Kaye Leslie and her service dog Jordan brunched elsewhere Sunday after a
Yonge St. restaurant employee said the golden retriever wasn’t welcome Kaye
Leslie and her guide dog Jordan normally go everywhere together. But on
Sunday, they were turned away from a Yonge St. restaurant, a legal
violation.

Kaye Leslie and her guide dog Jordan normally go everywhere together. But on
Sunday, they were turned away from a Yonge St. restaurant, a legal
violation.

By:Laura Armstrong
Toronto Star, May 11, 2015

Kaye Leslie and her guide dog Jordan were on their way to meet family for
lunch Sunday when nephew-in-law Steven Lewis called with a surprising
message: an employee at Paramount Fine Foods was refusing to seat the group
because the golden retriever couldn’t mix with its halal-style food.

Lewis said he requested a table for four with a “bit of extra space” for the
guide dog at the Middle Eastern restaurant and bakery on Yonge St. The
unidentified employee told Lewis and his wife Leah, Leslie’s nice, that dogs
weren’t allowed in the near-empty restaurant.

“I said, ‘No, it’s a service dog. It’s a guide dog.’ He said, ‘No, this
restaurant’s halal, you’re not allowed in here with any dogs,’” said Lewis,
a onetime Toronto resident who was in town for the weekend from Muskoka.

All businesses licensed by the City of Toronto must provide service to
people with service dogs, according to the city’s licensing bylaw.

After learning about Sunday’s incident from the Star, Paramount Fine Foods
CEO Mohamed Fakih said the company allows service dogs across their 13
locations, a policy printed in their operating manual.

“Probably it’s a single mistake from a junior employee,” he told the Star on
Monday.

Fakih said he was unaware of a link between halal food — which is prepared
as prescribed by Muslim law — and a ban on service dogs or dogs in general.
He also welcomed the family back to the restaurant to “show that we’re
different than they thought.”

Leslie said she was shocked to receive the phone call from Lewis on Sunday,
though she’s been discriminated against before because of her guide dog. She
has previously taken a few taxi drivers to court after they refused to pick
her up.

“It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does I think, ‘What year is this?’
I think, ‘Wow, we’ve really come a long way, but we’re not there yet.’ It
never ceases to surprise me.”

ßHow food is prepared doesn’t factor in to the city’s bylaw, said John
Decourcy, director of bylaw enforcement at the City of Toronto.

“Everybody should have access to all the licensed premises that Toronto has,
regardless of what they’re serving,” he said.

If a person with a guide dog is refused service, Decourcy encourages them to
call 3-1-1 and lodge a complaint. Every complaint is investigated and, if
there is evidence to support a charge, a ticket of up to $500 can be issued.

The city will investigate Sunday’s incident, he said.

Leslie’s nephew-in-law Lewis said the employee who refused to serve the
group of four was the only one he saw in the restaurant Sunday. He doesn’t
want anyone punished but wants everyone in the service industry to be aware
of Leslie’s basic right to have Jordan at her side, no matter where they
fall in the restaurant’s hierarchy.

“Regardless, even if he works there, he should be educated in what the
protocols are.”

Danforth-area resident Leslie said these days she only reports the
discrimination she experiences about 30 per cent of the time. When she does
report it, other people who many not be as used to being blind or who may
not be as well-versed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are front of
mind.

“The reality is, if people don’t want to serve you with your dog, they will
find some excuse.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/11/woman-with-guide-dog-refused-serv
ice-at-toronto-restaurant.html
<http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/11/woman-with-guide-dog-refused-ser
vice-at-toronto-restaurant.html>____________________________________________
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