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Lawsuit of the week: Shaw gave Cantonese and Mandarin speakers better deals, former employee claims after dismissal

A former customer service representative is suing Shaw Communications Inc. and Shaw Cablesystems GP, claiming she was fired without cause after three months and was forced to participate in an “unlawful discriminatory pricing scheme” while on the job.
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A former customer service representative is suing Shaw Communications Inc. and Shaw Cablesystems GP, claiming she was fired without cause after three months and was forced to participate in an “unlawful discriminatory pricing scheme” while on the job.

Kwok Bo Daisy Halliday filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court on August 15. She claims she was hired on as a multicultural customer service representative in February 2018 and allegedly fired without cause or notice three months later.

“Throughout her employment the plaintiff was forced to provide customers who spoke Cantonese and/or Mandarin better deals than customer who did not speak Cantonese or Mardarin,” the claim states. “Further, the unlawful discriminatory pricing scheme violates consumer protection laws as well as societal mores. In many (though not all) instances, the unlawful discriminatory pricing scheme inflicts human rights abuses upon customers and/or potential customers of the defendants. Forcing the plaintiff to foist this upon consumers represents a marked departure from the type of workplace Canadians should feel entitled to and warrants the rebuke of this court.”

Halliday claims punitive damages “must be set at an amount which will financially impact the defendant, and must accordingly be set with reference to the defendant’s vast financial wealth and resources.”

“The defendant is massively wealthy and has virtually unlimited financial resources,” the claim states. Halliday’s allegations have not been tested or proven in court, and Shaw had not responded to the claim by press time.