The Supreme Court in B.C. had to overturn a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling this week, a ruling that found a shipyard company guilty of discrimination. Why the reversal? Well, said the judge: “There was no evidence capable of proving the case of discrimination before the tribunal.”

Victoria Shipyards highly values its reputation as a fair employer with a great record of taking workplace harassment and discrimination seriously. But the Tribunal found the employer guilty of racial discrimination based on the whimsical story of a black man who claims he found a rag on his lunchbox that looked like a KKK mask. There was no corroboration of the story, and the Tribunal even admitted that the complainant was unreliable and seemed nervous and confused and that the evidence was inconsistent.

But despite this obvious and terrible lack of evidence, the Tribunal found that there was discrimination. This is a bizarre conclusion, a violation of the rule of law which calls into question the impartiality of the Tribunal.

There is a silver lining to this whole ordeal: the Supreme Court ordered the complainant to pay the legal costs in the appeal. What a great remedy! Hopefully this sends a loud and clear message to anyone who tries a shakedown of a reputable company: you better have some good evidence before trying this!

And hopefully the Tribunal heard their rebuke clearly too: basic fairness requires evidence of discrimination before a finding of guilt. A five-year-old knows that. It’s basic justice and fairness.