Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Hearing Expected In B.C. Human Rights Case Involving Transgender Inmate

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 May, 2017 12:41 PM
  • Hearing Expected In B.C. Human Rights Case Involving Transgender Inmate
VANCOUVER — A lawyer for a transgender woman who was forced to stay in a men's jail says his client hopes her human rights case against the British Columbia government will change policies for other inmates.
 
Dan Soiseth said his client Jaris Lovado, who calls herself Bianca, was incarcerated at the Surrey Pretrial Centre for five months last year before being moved to a women's facility after filing multiple complaints.
 
The Justice Ministry tried to have Lovado's complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal dismissed, but the tribunal ruled the case is worthy of a further hearing.
 
BC Corrections has a policy of housing inmates according to their self-identified gender unless health and safety concerns can't be resolved.
 
The ministry told the tribunal that during a previous stay at the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, Lovado engaged in inappropriate relationships with female inmates and posed a safety risk to women who may have experienced trauma.
 
It also said Lovado displayed a "male persona."
 
"We don't know exactly what that means," Soiseth said.
 
Soiseth, who represents the Community Legal Assistance Society, said there was no evidence provided of any safety concerns and it's not unusual for inmates to have relationships.
 
He said the main issue is that Lovado, who was serving time for fraud-related charges and breaching conditions of release, faced discrimination as a transgender person and her needs were not met until she complained.
 
Lovado was moved to the women's facility in Maple Ridge last September after she agreed to meet behavioural expectations.
 
 
 
 
The tribunal's written decision stated Alouette Correctional Centre initially declined to accept Lovado as a transfer based on information from BC Corrections that she'd been living in the community as a male.
 
The decision said an April 26, 2016, email from the deputy warden to the assistant warden at Surrey Pretrial said Lovado refused to be skin frisked by a male but that the deputy said Lovado should undergo that procedure because she had "all the equipment of a male."
 
Lovado requested a "female Alouette Centre diet" while at Surrey Pretrial but was told that wasn't possible, the ruling said. The tribunal noted BC Corrections branch did provide her with female underwear including bras and make-up from Alouette.
 
Corrections said in its application for dismissal that staff at the Surrey Pretrial Centre ensured Lovado was placed in areas where she could have adequate privacy.
 
"It says it also ensured Ms. Lovado's physical and mental health-care needs were addressed in a timely manner," the ruling said.
 
Lovado did not respond to requests for comment, and the Justice Ministry said it could not provide information until the election writ is returned.

MORE National ARTICLES

Nanaimo Police Recover Body Believed To Be Missing Teen, Now Treating Case As Homicide

NANAIMO, B.C. — Police say they have recovered what they believe is the body of a 16-year-old girl who was reported missing almost two months ago in Nanaimo, B.C.

Nanaimo Police Recover Body Believed To Be Missing Teen, Now Treating Case As Homicide

Vancouver Developer Fined, Banned From Trading After Investor Loses $1 Million

Vancouver Developer Fined, Banned From Trading After Investor Loses $1 Million
VANCOUVER — The B.C. Securities Commission has ordered a real estate developer to pay a fine of $125,000 after a hearing concluded he defrauded a client for part of a $1-million investment in a project that failed.

Vancouver Developer Fined, Banned From Trading After Investor Loses $1 Million

Ottawa Doctor Facing Multiple Sex Charges; Allegedly Assaulted 3 Female Patients

Ottawa Doctor Facing Multiple Sex Charges; Allegedly Assaulted 3 Female Patients
OTTAWA — An Ottawa doctor is facing charges after allegedly sexually assaulting three female patients.

Ottawa Doctor Facing Multiple Sex Charges; Allegedly Assaulted 3 Female Patients

Bankruptcy Forces Organizers Of Pemberton Music Festival To Cancel Event

Bankruptcy Forces Organizers Of Pemberton Music Festival To Cancel Event
VANCOUVER — The Pemberton Music Festival in British Columbia has filed for bankruptcy and this year's event has been cancelled.

Bankruptcy Forces Organizers Of Pemberton Music Festival To Cancel Event

Three Chilliwack, B.C. Dairy Workers Who Pleaded Guilty To Animal Cruelty Get Jail Time

Three Chilliwack, B.C. Dairy Workers Who Pleaded Guilty To Animal Cruelty Get Jail Time
CHILLIWACK, B.C. — British Columbia's provincial court says three dairy farm workers from the Fraser Valley have been sentenced to jail for causing distress to an animal after an undercover video showed several employees abusing milk cows.

Three Chilliwack, B.C. Dairy Workers Who Pleaded Guilty To Animal Cruelty Get Jail Time

Agreement Allows Police In Vancouver Pride Parade, But Changes Will Be Made

Agreement Allows Police In Vancouver Pride Parade, But Changes Will Be Made
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Police Department says its members will walk in the city's Pride parade this year.

Agreement Allows Police In Vancouver Pride Parade, But Changes Will Be Made