Arbitrator upholds reprimand against B.C. educator who told Black co-worker 'at least I am from here'

An arbitrator has determined a B.C. school district was justified in reprimanding an education assistant who said "at least I am from here" to a Black co-worker during an argument at work.

In a written decision made last month, the arbitrator called the woman's remarks toward a Ghanaian-born colleague "clearly derogatory."

The comment was made during a meeting in January at Pinetree Seconday School in Coquitlam, during which education assistants Trisha Sophusson and Millicent Mensah were discussing a student's academic goals.

According to a complaint filed by Mensah, Sophusson disagreed with Mensah's suggestions for the student and said "I don't like you."

After two co-workers left the room, Mensah allegedly told Sophusson she didn't have to like her, but that she needed to have a certain level of respect for her so they could work together.

The argument escalated, and Sophusson is alleged to have said "I don't have to respect you. I am a mother and a taxpayer," followed by "at least I am from here."

Shortly after the argument, Sophusson contacted the school's principal and filed a formal complaint against Mensah. On April 6, after the school district investigated the complaint, and despite the fact Sophusson had initiated it, it issued Sophusson a written reprimand.

It determined Sophusson's "at least I am from here" comment was made on the basis of Mensah's racial or ethnic background and was "highly inappropriate," and that her behaviour constituted harrassment and discrimination.

Sophusson was told future incidents could lead to more severe disciplinary action, including termination.

The union grieved Sophusson's reprimand, saying Mensah's recollection of the argument was inconsistent and contradictory and that she may have misinterpreted Sophusson's comments.

The employer said there was no evidence Mensah had any motivation to lie or invent such a "damning allegation."

It said Sophusson's comments had a "devastating impact" on Mensah, who used up her sick days, had a panic attack and attended therapy sessions.

It said she filed a WorkSafeBC claim for bullying and harassment, which was accepted, as well as a Human Rights Tribunal complaint against Sophusson and the employer alleging racial discrimination.

'Being a Black woman, we're raised to live through anything'

Asked why the words hurt her so deeply, Mensah said it made her question every hardship her parents had to endure after arriving in Canada in 1983.

The comment made her feel like she was "less of a person" because she wasn't born in Canada, she said.

"We pay taxes, we've been paying since my parents got here. We've made sacrifices, my parents more than most and continue to make sacrifices. It wasn't just me that she hurt, it was my mother, every single person that I love. It's still, it eats me inside because what was all that sacrifice for then, if someone like [her] can look at me and say you don't belong," Mensah testified. 

Mensah said she is raising two biracial daughters and that she prays they never face similar comments.

"I pray to God that they never come across that. That no one makes them question the skin they are in. That no one takes away their worth, that no ones strips away their confidence. No one makes them question whether they're good enough," she said.

"I was raised to be proud and confident. I was raised to jump through hurdles and get up. Being a black woman, we're raised to live through anything. But for some reason, I can't live through this without my chest feeling like it is caving in."

Remarks 'clearly derogatory,' says arbitrator

In a written decision, arbitrator Joanie McEwan called Sophusson's testimony "disingenuous" and that some of her remarks made during the argument were "clearly derogatory in nature."

Of the argument, she said she views Sophusson as provocateur and Mensah as trying to restore order. McEwan said there was no evidence Mensah was motivated to make a false accusation. Sophusson, on the other hand, did not own up to or explain inconsistencies in her own testimony, McEwan said, calling it "self-serving" and calculated to present Mensah in the least favourable light. 

Sophusson testified she went to school administration right after the meeting because she was concerned the situation could escalate, but McEwan said it was "not a stretch" that "her guilty mind" at having made the comment was possibly the main reason.

"The evidence establishes that it was the Grievor, not Mensah, who levelled the insults; it was she who passed judgment, as she had done with others of her co-workers, on Mensah," McEwan said.

"I am satisfied that the Employer had just and reasonable cause for imposing on the Grievor the written reprimand which it did."