An employee from a Regina Casino will not be reinstated to his position after the man was fired from the Crown corporation back in 2018 for racist remarks towards co-workers. The employee lost his job after two racist allegations and tried to appeal the corporation’s decision but to avail. The arbitrator confirmed that he will not be reinstated by the gambling corporation.

The casino staff member will not get his job back at the Crown corporation gambling venue, after being identified as “arguably racist” by his co-workers, after complaints of racial comments. The now-former employee has worked as a dealer and acting supervisor for 10 years in the SaskGaming Casino, but his appeal to be reinstated was denied.

The Hearing

The former dealer and supervisor is represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and the union supported the appeal by claiming that he deeply regrets the incidents and is willing to take corrective actions. Allen Ponak was assigned as an arbitrator for the case, but in a January hearing, he pronounced his decision that considering the man’s past, the firing was justified and his grievance was also denied.

An Indigenous woman who testified in the case, claims that back in August 2018, the defendant told her to watch John Wayne Western movies. Her response was that the said pictures portray harmful stereotypes and tropes of Indigenous people, to which the man responded with “get over it”. The arbitrators also heard from the woman’s testimony that he proceeded with several other even more grotesque racial remarks, which were found extremely offensive.

According to the testimony, the exchange of words between her and the former employee left her “shaky,” and later upon discussions decided to file an official complaint against him. In his testimony, the defendant admitted that his comments were inappropriate and “totally unacceptable”. In his words, he wanted to offer a formal apology to the woman but was stopped by his superiors after they told him to stay away.

Mr. Ponak’s decision saw the man’s remarks as borderline racist and even allowed him the benefit of the doubt by further stating that they were extremely insensitive. The arbitrator also stated that it is difficult to understand how a man can be so oblivious to the impact of his comments towards the woman in such times.

Grand Villa Casino Scandal

Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby, B.C. has also been involved in a racial scandal. Siobhan Barker was a victim of racial profiling on her way out of the restaurant when she was stopped by security who demanded to check her belongings. The woman of color was detained from leaving for almost 40 minutes, after being accused by security that she might be in possession of alcohol or weapons.

Woodbine Entertainment and Trust 15

The horse racing field is also fighting for the rights of people of color –  Woodbine Entertainment initiates Trust 15 collaboration, which is a local charitable organization. July 22, 2020, saw the group taking over the racing operator social media accounts in order to raise awareness for working with the Rexdale community over the everyday life risks. Woodbine Entertainment is determined to inform the public on the never-ending anti-racism campaign and it is working on securing a better future for the youth.

Source: Eneas, Bryan, “Casino Regina dealer accused of racism loses gamble to get job back”,  CBC, February 7, 2021