Heiltsuk Nation family alleges racial profiling after incident at B.C. Canadian Tire

An Indigenous family has filed a human rights complaint against retail giant Canadian Tire over a pair of incidents that happened on the same day at the company’s Coquitlam, B.C., location.

Dawn Wilson said she and her then 66-year-old father, who are both members of the Heiltsuk Nation, were having a new set of tires installed on their car on a January day in 2020.

They were told the tire service and an oil change would take about 90 minutes so they decided to do some shopping in the store.

“We grabbed a buggy and we had filled it up with all kinds of household items,” Dawn Wilson said.

As a cashier at the checkout rang up the $600 worth of merchandise they were purchasing, Wilson claims a security guard demanded to look inside her father’s backpack.

“I looked away and smiled and tried to pretend it was normal so that my dad didn’t feel uncomfortable,” she said. “But when we got outside less than a minute later I looked in his eyes and saw that it wasn’t ok what happened to him.”

Wilson said the pair felt humiliated and suspected racial profiling was the reason for the bag check.

Feeling shaken by the experience, Wilson said she relayed the story to an automotive employee while paying for the service on her car.

“He looked at me and really loudly said in front of a roomful of people that his dad taught him the difference between an Indian and a native,” Wilson said. “’An Indian comes from the reserve and begs and steals and demands money.’ And I asked him, what was I? What was my dad?”

A 2017 incident at a different Canadian Tire store in Regina prompted an apology from the retailer – but not before protests happened outside the store.

In that case, a store manager approached customer Kamao Cappo, an Anishnabe man, and physically removed him from the store.

Cappo claimed it was also a case of racial profiling.

The parties eventually settled a complaint Cappo brought before the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal.

So far, mediation has failed to resolve the Coquitlam case.

In a statement to CTV News, Canadian Tire said it takes claims of racial profiling and racism seriously.

“It simply should not happen. The associate dealer who owns the store has been actively at the table, cooperating with the tribunal since the claim was filed,” the retailer said. “We believe that is the proper forum for these discussions, and we are not in a position to comment further.”

Dawn Wilson hopes the incidents prompt systemic change in the way of enhanced training and new policies at Canadian Tire stores.

“People who look like us, or people of colour, should not have to feel nervous while shopping,” she said.

If no settlement is reached, the BC Human Rights Tribunal will hold a public hearing.