A Montreal man is filing a discrimination complaint with Quebec's Human Rights Tribunal after being detained by security guards at the Bay.
The incident took place in September when Michael Bryan was buying a watch at the department store in downtown Montreal.
“This is racial profiling at the highest level and I don't deserve this,” said Bryan as he described what happened.
Salespeople asked him if he wanted to apply for a Bay credit card, and in doing so receive an additional discount. Bryan agreed and filled out the forms to apply for the card, but when he handed them in, security guards were called.
Bryan ended up being detained for two hours.
The guards questioned Bryan, who is black, repeatedly because they suspected him of carrying false identification documents.
“At this point, I am a little nervous and I’m asking, ‘Why are you taking me through all of this?’ They said (my) driver's licence, which I was about to renew, was fake and ‘we have reasons to believe all your identifications are also fake.’ I said, ‘It's crazy,’” said Bryan.
Police officers eventually arrived and they determined very quickly that Bryan's documents were legitimate.
"They ran the identification through the machine and they said, 'Bryan, this is a valid driver's licence, you're more than fine to go on your way.' After which point I was embarrassed, upset. I didn't get violent or physical, but it was a totally inappropriate two hours of my life," said Bryan.
Bryan had a witness with him, Kris Gupta, who tried to help.
“I did the best I could to intervene and keep things calm, but I was told to mind my own business and get out of the way. He was shoved into the elevator by the two security guards,” said Gupta.
Convinced he was the victim of racial profiling, Bryan has since filed a human rights complaint.
The Bay issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon, saying: "We take these allegations seriously. The interaction with this individual was based on fraud prevention measures, and in no way was race a factor. We are committed to always delivering a positive customer experience in our stores."
Law permits guards to detain shoppers
A law passed in Quebec about 15 years ago requires licencing and specific training for anyone working as a security guard.
Guards have the right to stop and detain individuals until police arrive, because only police officers have the right to arrest people.
There is however, a grey area in terms of how long a person can be detained until police arrive.
“They can arrest someone, but they have to immediately turn that person to the police, immediately within reason,” said Alain Babineau, a retired RCMP officer familiar with the case. “In this case, Mr. Bryan was kept for a significant (amount) of time.”
