The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a Chinese restaurant in downtown Toronto to pay Emile Wickham — a black man — $10,000, after the 31-year-old and three black companions were asked to prepay for their meals. It was May 3, 2014 — Wickham’s birthday — and to celebrate he and three friends had gone in search of food, settling on the Hong Shing Chinese Restaurant, an eatery on Dundas Street West. He was met by a waiter who explained to the group that they would have to prepay. Wickham got up and canvassed the restaurant’s other patrons — none of whom were black — asking if any had had to prepay for their meals. (Hong Shing serves food from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.) The restaurant claimed that it adopted a prepay policy several years ago, applying it to any customer that wasn’t considered a regular.

Source: National Post April 30, 2018 17:48 UTC