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Go-kart operator compensates Sikh in turban-helmet dispute

July 9th, 2007 by admin

Go-kart operator compensates Sikh in turban-helmet dispute

Dakshana Bascaramurty
CanWest News Service

Sunday, July 08, 2007

TORONTO - A major amusement park in suburban Toronto has paid compensation to a Sikh man after he complained he was discriminated against for refusing to take off his turban and wear a helmet to drive a go-kart.

Paramount Canada’s Wonderland has since asked the Ontario Human Rights Commission to allow it to exempt turban-wearing Sikhs from the helmet requirement, which is commonplace for insurance purposes.

Gurcharan Dran bought tickets for the Speed City Raceway attraction but was not allowed to ride because of a helmet use regulation, reported the commission last week.

He filed a complaint but due to a backlog, the case - dating from 2001- did not go to the tribunal until last year. Dran reached a settlement with Wonderland last October, which included an undisclosed payment.

Dran could not be reached for comment but Kevin Fox, his lawyer, said Dran “thinks (Paramount Canada’s Wonderland) could have handled it a bit better when they told him to get off.”

Fox said he did not know the details of the confrontation, but said Dran was in his 50s at the time.

Adam Hogan, a spokesman for the amusement park located about a half-hour north of Toronto, said he was unfamiliar with how much Dran had been compensated and the details of the incident. But he did say the helmet requirement has not changed.

“Nobody can ride the ride without a helmet,” said Hogan. “When it comes to safety, we don’t make exceptions.”

Ontario businesses with go-kart tracks are required to enforce helmet use by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, an arm’s-length government agency. The regulation is part of Ontario’s Technical Standards and Safety Act, which also regulates roll bars and seat belt use in go-karts.

As part of the settlement, Wonderland agreed to request an exemption to the helmet requirement for Sikhs from the ministry of government services and the safety authority.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is also seeking an exemption for Sikhs at all go-kart tracks in the province.

“We do take the requirements of the Ontario Human Rights Code very seriously, but this is a complex issue,” said Sam Colalillo, a spokesman for the ministry of government services. He said it was too early to speculate if and when an amendment would be made to the helmet law.

Similar laws for go-kart racing exist in other provinces, but not all.

Richmond Go-Kart Track in Richmond, B.C. asks patrons to wear helmets, but only because the business’ insurance company instructs them to, said employee Jack Picken.

“If someone with a turban came in, we’d encourage them to wear the helmet, but we wouldn’t force them,” he said.
© CanWest News Service

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=4417b334-eb24-4f75-a90f-1be8bdfee938&k=38026

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