BC landlord to pay $10,000 for discriminatory comment to trans tenant
A BC landlord has been ordered to pay $10,000 to her former tenant, and one-time close friend, after she said she would be uncomfortable if the tenant changed their gender.
According to a Jan. 22, BC Human Rights Tribunal decision, landlord Kirstin Chase Olsen told her tenant Terry Wiebe that they were "fine as a lesbian" and that they didn't need to "mutilate" their body.
The decision says in 2014, Olsen and Wiebe were close friends and Wiebe agreed to pay $100 a month in rent and parked their motorhome on Olsen's rural property in the Slocan Valley. Wiebe also worked for Olsen.
Over the years the relationship started to break down and eventually in 2017 Olsen asked Wiebe to move out.
Sometime afterwards, Wiebe filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal saying they'd been evicted because of their decision to change their gender.
Olsen disputed this, saying Wiebe was told to leave after several incidents where they became increasingly volatile and caused tension among Olsen's friends and family.
The 16,000-word decision gives a detailed play-by-play account of conversations the two had and analyzes whether the conversations were had as friends, or as landlord and tenant.
Saying transphobic statements to a friend doesn't breach the BC Human Rights Code. However, saying those same statements as a landlord to a tenant could be classed as discrimination under the Human Rights Code.
The decision depicts close friends living on an isolated rural property, along with others who rented trailers at the site.
Sometime in late 2016 or early 2017 while sitting on the porch of the double-wide where Olsen lived Wiebe said they planned to change their gender identity.
"I accept your decision but I will not celebrate it, as I feel that femininity is divine and I was raised by a lesbian feminist and I celebrate being a woman [and] I think it may not be the best decision for you," Olsen later summed up in an email.
In the following months, the subject matter continued and Wiebe asked Olsen if they would be able to continue living on her property if they got top surgery.
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The decision says Olsen never said Wiebe couldn't stay but said she was uncomfortable with it or she did not support it.
"She described top surgery, on at least one occasion, as 'mutilation,'" the decision reads.
The two didn't speak about it for months, but by 2018, the relations had deteriorated and was causing stress for Olsen and the other people who lived on the property.
The final straw came when Wiebe accused someone who they'd lent their vehicle of drunk driving and a "blowout" took place.
Afterwards, Olsen said Wiebe had to leave.
The case went to the Residential Tenancy Branch, which decided the living arrangement didn't fit its criteria and ended up at the BC Supreme Court for a judicial review.
Wiebe eventually moved out and then alleged that their gender identity was a factor in their eviction.
However, the Tribunal disagreed.
"Both parties testified that they regularly had personal conversations there, during the years Terry Wiebe lived on Ms. Olsen’s property. These conversations touched on serious issues like their family and health problems. Ms. Olsen’s statements to the effect that 'you’re fine as a lesbian' and that top surgery was 'mutilation' were made during one of those conversations, when Terry Wiebe was in the process of coming out as transgender to Ms. Olsen. We understand how these statements were hurtful for Terry Wiebe, but the context in which they were made suggests they were related to the parties’ personal relationship, rather than their tenancy," the Tribunal ruled.
The Tribunal ruled that the comments were part of a "frank, unguarded" conversation between friends.
"In these circumstances, we find Ms. Olsen’s reference to mutilation was part of a personal discussion, between friends, rather than an issue related to the tenancy. If it was sufficiently connected to the tenancy, it would be unacceptable," the Tribunal said.
However, the Tribunal found that Olsen's lack of response when Wiebe asked if they could stay if they got top surgery was different than friends talking.
"This was not part of a frank, unguarded conversation between friends; it was more like a tenant asking a landlord if their lease would be renewed," the Tribunal ruled.
The Tribunal ruled that the comment was discrimination.
Wiebe also argued their ultimate eviction was based on their gender identity, but the Tribunal dismissed the argument saying there were multiple reasons why Olsen wanted to evict them.
Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered Olsen to pay Wiebe $10,000 compensation for discriminatory comments she made while in her position as the landlord.
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