Video of woman berating Burnaby pharmacy staff in racist rant goes viral

Another viral video has surfaced of a racist rant in Metro Vancouver.

The incident, which happened at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Burnaby at Kingsway and McMurray Avenue, was posted to social media on Monday.

Facebook user Alan, who asked not to be identified, said he didn’t see how the incident started, but that it appeared to have begun with a dispute over the handling of a return or exchange, or over the price of a product.

“I just want to put this lady on blast for being extremely rude and racist,” he wrote in posting the video.

“Hopefully show her there’s consequences to this type of behaviour. It’s sad to see this sort of racism still in 2019.”

1:37 Racist rant at Burnaby Shopper’s Drug Mart caught on video

The video begins with a woman, whose young son is with her, in mid-exchange with two staff members behind a counter.

“Shut up, you’re rude. Speak English in Canada,” she can be heard telling the staff repeatedly in a raised voice.

The woman then asks who she can complain to, and the staff members point out a phone number on her receipt.

The person filming then walks away from the encounter briefly, at which point the exchange becomes harder to hear.

A staff member appears to suggest a manager speak with the woman, at which point she becomes more verbally aggressive.

“You want a manager to talk to me, you bring your manager here, you idiot, or go speak Chinese with your other staff and s–t talk me somewhere else,” she yells.

2:06 Woman fired after racist rant goes viral

The man who published the video told Global News he recorded it because he felt it was important to expose the behaviour, but said he did not get involved because as an Asian person himself he felt the aggression may have been turned on him.

In an email, Shoppers Drug Mart spokesperson Catherine Thomas called the behaviour unacceptable.

“The incident that took place on Monday was both disappointing and unacceptable, and has absolutely no place in our stores,” said Thomas.

“We believe fully in two-way respect between our employees and our customers and were appalled to see that behaviour. We have been in touch with the store, and have offered additional resources and support where required.”

By Tuesday afternoon, the video had been viewed 220,000 times and shared more than 6,200 times.

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