Montreal Cabbie Files Human Rights Complaint Over Religious Items

Today's Montreal Gazette reports that Montreal cabbie Arieh Perecowicz has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission challenging a Montreal Taxi Bureau bylaw that bans any "object or inscription that is not required for the taxi to be in service." Perecowicz, who is Jewish, has two mezuzahs embedded in the posts between the front and rear seats of his cab. He also has photos of his daughter and the founder of the Chabad Lubavitch movement as well as a Remembrance Day poppy in the taxi. His complaint asks for $5,000 in damages, alleging that the Montreal bylaw infringes his freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Next month, Perecowicz will ask a Montreal municipal court judge to postpone ruling on his four citations-- each fining him $191-- for violating the Taxi Bureau bylaw until the Human Rights Commission rules in his case. Perecowicz suggests that the fines are related to his appearance on television with other drivers complaining that the Taxi Bureau was not enforcing its rules against unlicensed cabs.