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A B.C. man who is deafblind has won a Human Rights Tribunal complaint after the organizers of a free three-day writing workshop refused to get him a sign language interpreter.

According to an Aug. 11 B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision, Craig MacLean is deafblind and enrolled in the workshop put on by Black Card Books.

MacLean asked Black Card Books to pay for a sign language interpreter to accompany him to the workshop.

However, the company refused saying it was a free event and it was too expensive for them to provide an interpreter, but MacLean was welcome to bring his own.

The decision said MacLean attended the event without an interpreter but could not understand the presentations or communicate with other attendees and left after one hour.

"I just felt so disheartened. I was so excited to attend this workshop and I really felt just so excluded and, once again, pushed to the side, pushed to the fringe of what most people get to do on a daily basis," MacLean said in the decision.

He later filed a human rights complaint saying the company had discriminated against him based on his disability.

The decision said MacLean is deafblind, can not hear and has very limited vision. He can, however, see a little up close.

Interpreting for deafblind people is highly skilled work and interpreters work in pairs with one sitting very close, wearing black clothes and making sure the hand gestures are small and within the field of vision.

The decision said MacLean is an avid blogger and has many ideas for books based on his own life experiences, he's also been working on manuscripts for many years.

In the fall of 2018, he saw the ad for the free three-day "Bookology Bootcamp."

The workshop was advertised as the opportunity to "publish a book and grow rich."

Ordinarily, the workshop cost $140, but this time the company was offering it for free.

In the decision, Black Card Books explained the workshop offers advice on how to plan, write and publish a book. However, the workshop doesn't make money but is a marketing tool to purchase the company’s publishing program which costs US$35,000.

MacLean admitted he couldn't afford the US$35,000.

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"I accept that the workshop may not have been exactly what Mr. MacLean thought it was, in terms of an opportunity to turn one of his ideas into a profitable book," the Tribunal ruled. "However, I find that there was an adverse impact on Mr. MacLean arising from the fact that he was denied the opportunity to participate in a free workshop that was available to people without his disability-related needs."

The Tribunal goes on to say this type of exclusion is "inherently harmful and diminishing of a person’s dignity and feeling of self-worth."

The company said around 100 people attended the workshop and it only made one sale which didn't cover its costs. The company said it was not financially feasible for it to pay for an interpreter.

"I accept that paying for... interpreters would have increased the cost of putting on the workshop. But that does not end the analysis, because 'it will always seem demonstrably cheaper to maintain the status quo and not eliminate a discriminatory barrier,'" the decision read. "Ultimately, the issue is not whether an accommodation costs money – it often does – but whether that cost is undue."

The Tribunal found that while Black Card Books said it was too expensive, it provided no evidence as to what it would cost the company to hire an interpreter.

The Tribunal also found that Black Card Books did not intentionally discriminate against MacLean.

"However, a violation of the Human Rights Code does not depend on intention," the Tribunal ruled.

Ultimately, the Tribunal ruled that Black Cards Books did not take "all reasonable and practical steps" to remove a disability-related barrier.

The Tribunal ordered Black Cards Books to allow MacLean to attend the workshop in the future and pay for an interpreter of his choice.

While MacLean had argued for $5,000 in compensation, the Tribunal said that was too much.

"In my view, an award of $2,500 is appropriate. I accept that being excluded from the workshop hurt Mr. MacLean and injured his dignity. At the same time, Black Card Books did take some steps to mitigate the impact by providing him with all of the materials from the workshop," the Tribunal ruled.

"Ultimately, the opportunity that he missed was likely less significant than he originally understood, being the opportunity of being sold a product he does not want to buy."

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