Go-Kart Operator Compensates Sikh in Turban-Helmet Dispute

July 8, 2007

Author: Dakshana Bascaramurty

Source: CanWest News Service

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

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.”