A complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal by an inmate alleging Kamloops prison staff discriminated against him, including a claim that a correctional supervisor called him “a f—ing Muslim terrorist,” will move ahead to a hearing.
Tribunal member Emily Ohler ruled against an application by Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre that Andrew Monnette’s allegations are without merit and should be dismissed.
“I am not persuaded by KRCC that Mr. Monnette’s complaint has no reasonable prospect of success,” Ohler wrote in her ruling.
She did not make any findings of fact. A hearing date will now be set so the two sides can argue in front of the tribunal.
Monnette is alleging the provincial jail discriminated against his religious practice when it failed to provide him with a Qur’an, decorative prayer mat for his cell and a halal diet.
Monnette was admitted to KRCC in January 2014 and was transferred in and out on several occasions.
“Mr. Monnette says he has been a practicing Muslim for more than seven years,” Ohler wrote.
“This has included seeking regular spiritual guidance from an imam, trying to pray five times daily, using a prayer mat and beads, following an Islamic diet and regularly reading an English translation of the Qur’an.”
When Monnette returned to KRCC in April of that year, he claims he informed guards he is a Muslim. He said he did not make the request in January because he thought he would not be long in the facility.
He made a request for a Qur’an, prayer mat, decorative beads and a halal diet.
“He says he was told to ‘prove’ that he is Muslim and was accused of lying about being Muslim because he is ‘white,’” Ohler wrote in her ruling on the application for dismissal.
Monnette said he was ultimately sent a Qur’an, prayer beads and a prayer mat by an imam but said the institution would not allow him to use the mat, saying it could incite conflict and violence. Instead, he was given a clean towel — what KRCC claims is provincial practice — for use in his cell and allowed to use a mat in the chapel.
Later, however, he was denied access to the the chapel for behavioural reasons, KRCC told the human rights tribunal.
“On May 7, 2015, Mr. Monnette filed a complaint alleging that, in the course of a cell extraction, he was called a ‘f—ing Muslim terrorist’ by the correctional supervisor,” the board member wrote.
The correctional supervisor denies the allegation.
Monnette was first informed the jail did not have ability to provide a halal diet. He was offered a kosher diet, which he accepted.
In March last year, the jail offered a halal diet but Monnette said it did not meet standards.
KRCC has denied many of Monnette’s assertions.