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But what happened next would lead to a complaint that is believed to be the first case of “flying while Black” that reaches a full hearing before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

According to the claim by Francis, an international business professor at Simon Fraser University, the following verbal exchange ensued between her and the Air Canada check-in agent on March 1, 2018, at Vancouver International Airport. 

“I have a question. I am a business class passenger and the lineup is really long,” Francis said, as she quotes in her complaint. “What is your advice to me …”

“Don’t ask me,” the ticket agent cut her off and yelled.

“Just get in the line,” added the agent before tending to other passengers in what Francis described as “a kind and caring manner.”

Embarrassed and humiliated, Francis said she believed the Air Canada employee treated her differently because she was Black, and asked the agent to give her name or identifying number so she could report her “outrageous” behaviour to management.

When the agent refused, Francis took out her cellphone to photograph her. She said in her claim that was the only way of identifying the agent to a superior.

For that, Francis later had her boarding pass taken away and was told by a customer service manager — accompanied by an airport security guard — that she would not be allowed on the flight unless she deleted the agent’s photos. Feeling threatened, Francis complied.

On Monday, more than seven years after the encounter — which the airline said was due to Francis’s unruly behaviour — July 28 the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal will hear her discrimination case against Air Canada.

At issue is whether Canada’s Human Rights Act trumps the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that governs airline liability for international flights but does not provide for damages of any kind for discrimination.

Francis and her counsel, Sujit Choudhry and Mani Kakkar, declined the Star’s interview request, but issued a statement. 

“This is a test case about Flying While Black in international air travel,” the statement said. “It is also a crucial test case for the effectiveness of the Canadian Human Rights Act. It will decide if airlines can ever be liable to pay damages for discrimination for international flights.”

Air Canada told the Star it is contesting Francis’s allegations of discrimination and declined further comment.

However, in its submissions to the tribunal, Air Canada said Francis ignored and refused instructions by its staff, and acted in “an unruly manner,” escalating the situation “unnecessarily.”

“A primary role and paramount objective of Air Canada’s employees working a flight, including its check-in agents, is to ensure safety and security with respect to the ultimate boarding of passengers and the atmosphere in the cabin of the aircraft,” the airline said in a response to the tribunal.

In her complaint, Francis said both the Air Canada supervisor and the security guard ignored her complaint of mistreatment and the reason for photographing the check-in agent.

“It became clear that both of these people were not interested in taking Dr. Francis’s complaint seriously and had made their decision that Dr. Francis was at fault,” the claim said. “The supervisor went so far as to say she could see the problem was because clearly Dr. Francis did not take direction.”

According to the claim, Francis then asked which law was being broken by taking a picture in a public space, and the supervisor said she had a right to have it deleted because of the possibility of social media getting a hold of the image.

Francis subsequently wrote to Air Canada and received a response that she said did not address the issues or indicate an investigation was undertaken. She said the airline did not contact her for her account of the event, nor did it contact a Caucasian passenger, who witnessed the interaction, tried to intervene and left his business card for reference.

(“The supervisor changed her demeanour and behaved with a respectful manner toward this white male which she had not demonstrated in her behaviour toward Dr. Francis,” the complainant alleged.)

In seeking damages in the amount of $40,000, Francis also requests Air Canada institute sensitivity training and training in unconscious bias, anti-racism and anti-sexism, as well conducting an audit of its services to ensure it treats racialized passengers with respect and sensitivity.

In its defence, Air Canada said the check-in line agent requested the assistance of the manager because she was faced with a passenger who was “demanding and unwilling and refusing to follow instructions” in an unusually busy check-in area. It said both the agent and the manager were of Asian descent.

In its submission, the airline flagged the complainant’s resumé, which included being the special adviser to Simon Fraser University’s president on anti-racism, director of the university’s Institute for Diaspora Research & Engagement, co-founder of its Black Caucus, and board chair of the Hogan’s Alley Society, a group with the mandate to advance the economic and cultural well-being of people of African descent.

“There will be no evidence to support let alone prove ‘anti-Black racism,’ ‘conscious and unconscious bias,’ and ‘systemic and institutional and structural racial discrimination,’ ” Air Canada said in its defence.

“These allegations of the Complaint are disproportionate and untethered to the factual circumstances and serve to fit the agenda of the Complainant, whose career is focused on promoting these issues.”

Air Canada also argued that the tribunal cannot award damages because a claim against an air carrier is governed by the Montreal Convention, which is a standard liability regime for death and injury, damage or loss of baggage and flight delay in international travel. Given Francis’s itinerary, her journey was deemed international, said the airline.

However, Choudhry, lawyer for Francis, argued in her submissions that Canada’s Human Rights Act is a quasi-constitutional statute and must trump the Montreal Convention, which should be deemed unconstitutional if it denies the tribunal the power to award damages to victims of discrimination. 

“Every person has a right to be free from discrimination in international travel,” said Francis’s statement to the Star. “For Canada’s diasporas, international air travel is not a luxury. They must travel for family, economic and cultural reasons. They should be secure in the knowledge that if airlines discriminate against them, they have the right to damages.”