WATCH ABOVE: A Toronto man is alleging he was discriminated against after he and his service dog were not allowed into a mall. Christina Stevens reports.
At issue is the delay Sprague and his spouse endured when they were trying to enter the Empress Walk mall with Sprague’s service dog, Flicka.
Flicka goes everywhere with Sprague and helps him cope with his Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
Sprague said last August he and his wife’s “date night” was ruined by their experience at the mall entrance when they were stopped by a security guard.
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Sprague claims the guard told them they were not welcome with the dog, but refused his offer to provide Flicka’s certification papers and a doctor’s note confirming he requires a service dog.
Instead, the guard went to check with a supervisor.
Sprague’s main concern is that they waited with no one returning.
“My spouse hinted, maybe they are watching us on the security cameras,” he said.
Security video provided as evidence in the hearing shows the guard manually zooming the camera in on the dog’s vest. Then the video shows the two guards remaining in their office sitting in their chairs while not making any attempt to return to talk with Sprague.
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“It’s willful to just sit there and do nothing. It makes me sick, makes me so sick to my stomach,” said Sprague.
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He said his pregnant wife was so uncomfortable he finally left to find the office himself, before a second guard later told them they could enter the mall.
Sprague filed a human rights complaint over the incident saying that RioCan refused to apologize, and the security company initially denied he had a disability.
The company refutes the allegations, and the case continued to the hearing.
During the hearing, RioCan’s lawyers argued that there was no discrimination because of the short time involved, only about four to six minutes in total, and the fact that Sprague was ultimately allowed in.
RioCan did not respond to multiple interview requests from Global News, and representatives did not want to talk outside the hearing.
When Global News approached Kevin Miller, a regional vice-president with RioCan, he would not answer questions about whether they were satisfied with the guards’ actions, or why they had not issued an apology.
He referred us to their lawyer, but she also declined comment saying the hearing is ongoing.
Since last August, RioCan has changed signs on the mall doors to reflect that service dogs are welcome. But they did not change their internal policy which appears to exclude some uses of service dogs, saying service dogs are allowed, “…in the company of persons requiring assistance i.e. blind or otherwise physically challenged patrons.”
“So forget about service dogs for autism, forget about service dogs for diabetes, epilepsy, hearing impairments, post traumatic stress disorder,” said Sprague.
The written decision could take as long as three months.
However, by the end of the hearing day RioCan did agree they will change their policy.
Sprague said the issue is so important to him because he needs Flicka with him 24 hours a day.
“Flicka has honestly given me back my life. She’s honestly given me so much more freedom,” he said.
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