A former Toronto Police Service officer is suing his employer for discrimination.
According to an article published recently in the Toronto Star, Jamaica-born, Garnette Rose, 36, who joined the Toronto Police Service in 2003 with the hope of helping to bridge the gap between blacks and police, is seeking $1 million in damages from his former employer.
His complaint has been filed with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Rose said that his career with the Toronto Police Service has ended. He attributes this to his slight Jamaican accent, which is at the heart of the hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
He alleges that he faced unfair treatment and discrimination prior to filing the human rights complaint in June 2011.
“I believe this happened to me because … I am Jamaican and have an accent; because I stood for the truth; because I challenge the negative perceptions from Senior Staff,” he stated in his complaint.
Rose has created a Facebook page – Stop Racism within the Toronto Police Service.
The Toronto Police Service has been striving to ensure that it reflects the diversity of the society it serves and established the Diversity Management Unit.
The aim of the unit is to “coordinate all human rights complaints and activities, build strategic cultural change with the goal of facilitating a service wide appreciate of diversity and a dedication to increasing opportunity for all members….”