First Nations couple unhappy with treatment at Sudbury store, calling it a human rights violation

Tammy Nahwegahbow still doesn’t understand why security was called on her and her family during a shopping trip in Sudbury last week.

“We’re really easy going people,” she said.

Nahwegahbow, her husband Daniel Garcia, and their two children, ages 15 and 11, drove to Sudbury from their home in Whitefish River First Nation on Dec. 30 to shop at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre.

They were in a store called Just Cozy when a sales clerk failed to apply their status card tax exemption on their purchase, despite it being shown prior to everything being rung up.

Member of First Nations are eligible for an eight per cent rebate on provincial sales tax at point of purchase.

Nahwegahbow said she tried to rectify the issue calmly, but a heated argument erupted involving staff and customers. Mall security was called.

Tammy Nahwegahbow, her husband Daniel Garcia, and their two children, ages 15 and 11, drove to Sudbury from their home in Whitefish River First Nation on Dec. 30 to shop at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre. (Angela Gemmill photo)

“We were the only ones ejected -- we were the only ones pointed out,” Nahwegahbow said.

“The security guards immediately went to my husband and yelled at him aggressively. ‘You get out now.’ He wasn’t even a part of it. He was standing back probably 10 feet from where I was.”

Nahwegahbow said security escorted the family out of the store.

“It is a violation of our human rights,” she said.

The couple is speaking out to try to educate people about treaty rights -- and to urge sensitivity training for sales staff.

“We don’t want to be complacent with allowing our rights to be violated,” Garcia said.

“We are consciously making a decision to assert our rights and to not be treated in a dehumanizing, discriminatory way. We want to show our children that it can be done in a respectful way.”

MALL APOLOGIZED

CTV News reached out to ‘Just Cozy’ but didn’t receive a response. CTV News has learned that the management at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre reached out to the family and apologized for their experience.

The mall management confirmed it has spoken to both the store ownership and the security firm. The security firm has said additional training will be provided.

“We know that this is part of what we always have to do moving forward,” Nahwegahbow said.

“We’re always going to have to be fighting for our rights. We’re always have to speak up for injustices in this world. And that’s part of why I did this as well, it’s for my kids, it’s for my kids,” she added.

The Ontario Ministry of Finance said it is aware of the incident, but can not comment due to confidentiality rules.

If an eligible status card holder does not get the rebate at the point-of-sale, the customer may claim a rebate by submitting a form to the Ontario Ministry of Finance.

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In the meantime, the couple is considering filing a human rights complaint.