WATCH: A taxi driver has been suspended and his license is now under review after allegations he made some homophobic comments to a pair of passengers. Jill Croteau reports.
CALGARY – A Calgary cab driver has been suspended after a man said he was called “disgusting” and threatened to be kicked out of the taxi for kissing another man.
Nolan Hill said he and a friend left Stampede grounds around 11 p.m. on Saturday to head to the city’s northwest in a Calgary United Cab. He said they mostly talked throughout the ride, but after he kissed his friend in what he called a “very simple peck on the mouth,” the cab driver became upset.
“The cab driver said, ‘No, you can’t do that in my cab.’ And my friend said, ‘Excuse me?’
“He said, ‘No two men cannot be kissing in my cab. It’s disgusting.’ He said if we did it again, he would kick us out of the cab.”
READ MORE: Calgarian says he was called ‘disgusting,’ threatened by cab driver after kissing man
Cab driver Stephen Eze has had his licence suspended until August 5, according to a statement from the city’s Livery Transport Services. Calgary United Cab manager Naeem Chadry said Eze had been with the company for three months.
“Under The City of Calgary Livery Transport Bylaw, section 85, every driver while operating a taxi, must be professional and courteous,” said chief livery inspector Mario Henriques in the statement. “And in this situation our investigation has shown the driver’s actions were neither professional nor courteous.”
The investigation included a review of the cab’s surveillance video. Once the suspension is over, Eze will appear in front of a Licence Review Hearing, which will determine the future status of his licence. Livery Transport Servies said potential outcomes include additional suspension time, training related to diversity sensitivity and human rights, or a revocation of his licence.
Hill has been in touch with a police officer with the Diversity Resources Unit regarding the case, which does community outreach to “improve awareness and understanding” between members of Calgary’s communities.
Comments