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A B.C. man can now add his name to the list of a handful of anti-maskers that have tried and failed to prove they were discriminated against when they were refused entrance into a store for not wearing a mask.

This case involves John Ratchford, who in the fall of 2020 tried to shop at an undisclosed Best Buy store without wearing a mask.

According to a Jan. 28 B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision, Ratchford entered the store and was asked to put on a mask.

He refused, saying he had asthma and therefore couldn't wear one for medical reasons.

A Best Buy employee offered to bring him products to the door to look at, but Ratchford refused, saying he had another disability – although he didn't say what that disability was – which meant standing at the door would cause him pain.

The decision says that it appears that Ratchford didn't tell the employee about why he couldn't stand at the door.

Best Buy also pointed out to him that he could shop online.

READ MORE: Anti-maskers lose their cases at B.C. Human Rights Tribunal

"Mr. Ratchford has provided no evidence aside, from his assertion, that could prove that he has a physical disability that prevents him from wearing a mask," the Tribunal ruled.

The decision says while it appreciates it must have been frustrating for Ratchford not to shop at the store in a "manner he expected to," Best Buy is not obligated to provide a perfect accommodation for his disability, just a reasonable one.

The decision states that Ratchford was also obligated to participate in the accommodation process and accept solutions that were reasonable.

READ MORE: B.C. man fired for refusing to wear a mask loses Human Rights case

The decision says that Ratchford did not provide any substantive response to Best Buy's application to dismiss the Human Rights complaint except for noting that he has an inhaler for his asthma.

"In his complaint itself, however, he acknowledged expressly that Best Buy offered to accommodate him by bringing him the products he was looking for. While he says that standing to wait for this to happen would have caused him pain, he does not say that he brought this to the attention of Best Buy or otherwise engaged in a discussion of alternatives," the Tribunal ruled.

With that, the Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the complaint.

READ MORE: Anti-masker loses case at B.C. Human Rights Tribunal

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