Transgender man claims he faced discrimination at Regina Hotel globalnews.ca

What should have been a fun weekend for a family from Watrous, Sask., took a turn for the worse after an incident that is being described as gender discrimination at a Regina hotel.

Sixteen-year-old Casper Foster and his family were in Regina for his sister’s birthday swim party the weekend of February 4, 2023. Best Western Seven Oaks Hotel, A hotel employee approached Foster and informed him that T-shirts were not allowed in the pool.

It was at this moment that Foster’s mother approached to see what the conversation was about.

“It’s really disappointing,” said Shannon Montayne, Foster’s mother. “I’m not normally (a) Karen, but when my kids are involved, well, I’m Mama Bear.”

The staff member told Monteni that t-shirts were not allowed in the pool, and she informed the staff member that her son was transgender who had not had top surgery and explained that he was wearing the t-shirt because he was a woman. It is not comfortable in the bath. Suit.

“She’s wearing a T-shirt for decency’s sake … She goes away for a moment and comes back and (she) gets even stiffer,” she said. “There (were) also a lot of people wearing street clothes at the pool. Why (is) only my son being targeted?”

At that point, Foster fell in as the pool filled with dozens of patrons. Foster, who has ongoing anxiety issues since coming out as a transgender man a few years ago, found it motivating to re-live that feeling of not being accepted.

“I don’t usually do well in public. So to be asked to leave a public area in front of so many people when everyone else was doing the same thing was really overwhelming for me,” Foster said.

“It was embarrassing and almost humiliating in a way… Transgender individuals suffer a lot on a daily basis, like we are targeted for no reason at all.”

Monteni spoke with the manager the next day, who apologized for his son’s experience but said that “rules are rules.”

“I honestly think it was gender discrimination. They had a choice … they could have done it right,” she said. “People shouldn’t be treated like,

Montaney posted on social media about her family’s experience and received a lot of feedback and messages of support. She also filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and hopes that Best Western Seven Oaks Hotel and others can learn from this experience to be more aware and inclusive for all.

“People need to do better,” she said. “We’re just hoping that … no one else is treated like this … all you can do is hope that you can make a little difference.”

In an emailed statement, the co-president of Regina Pride Inc. said this situation could have been avoided if pool staff had more training on trans issues and suggests that Seven Oaks Hotel conduct positive space training for its front Apply – Members of the House Staff.

“I understand that cotton fibers can mess with a pool’s filtration system, and that pool dress codes are (in place) for such reasons. But it seems the staff didn’t clarify the point and acted poorly.” Got into position,” said Lisa Philipson.

“I hope Seven Oaks takes this complaint seriously and aims to improve itself and its guests’ experiences in the future.”

The City of Regina offers a program called “All Bodies Swim” which is a drop-in leisure swim for transgender, non-binary and/or gender non-conforming people and their allies. In a statement, the city said the program aims for inclusion and diversity.

According to an emailed statement, “This pilot program was designed in consultation with local 2SLGBTQIAP+ people and partner organizations as part of our commitment to creating safe, inclusive spaces.”

Global News contacted Best Western Seven Oaks Hotel but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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