WATCH ABOVE: A Toronto woman and a movie theatre are at odds over whether she was allowed to take food for her allergic grandson into the theatre
TORONTO – Toronto grandmother Cheryl Rosenthal says an EpiPen is always within close reach of her grandson, three-year-old Cooper.
Cooper is severely allergic to wheat, sesame and eggs.
However, Rosenthal said when she took him to see a movie at Rainbow Cinemas at Thornhill’s Promenade Mall, north of Toronto, the ticket takers refused to let her take special food for Cooper inside, even after she explained the allergies and showed them the EpiPen.
She said they told her they would talk to their manager and then came back with the same answer, no. She left and later returned with the food for Cooper hidden out of sight.
When they spotted the manager after the movie was over, she decided to approach him.
“I said ‘I’m the grandmother that you would not let bring in food for the allergic grandchild’, and he says well he says ‘That’s the policy of the management”.
Rosenthal added she believed their policy was in violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Magic Lantern Theatres runs Rainbow Cinemas, a company based in Alberta.
Tim Hutchinson, the president of Magic Lantern would only speak to Global News by phone and insisted the incident never happened, calling the story a “concoction”.
He claimed Rosenthal watched a couple of teenagers with food be turned away. She then went into the theatre without discussing her food with anyone and approached the manager after the movie, out of the blue.
When asked whether he was saying that the first conversation with the ticket takers simply did not take place, he replied, “yes, that’s what I was able to determine.”
He said the company has a policy allowing people to bring food in under special circumstances, as long as they check with the manager first.
According to the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, businesses have to make an effort to accommodate people with disabilities.
“If a child’s health is in danger and there’s going to be no impact on the service provider then the law is clear,” said Michele Mulgrave, the centre’s legal counsel.
Rosenthal stands by her version of events and said she is still considering filing a human rights complaint. She is concerned not just about this business, but also wants to make more people aware of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
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