Gay former jail guard awarded $98k for bullying, harassment at Ottawa prison

There are still deep pockets of intolerance in our supposedly enlightened society when it comes to homosexuals.

It shouldn't surprise us that a gay jail guard endured years of bullying and taunts from his colleagues while his superiors largely turned a blind eye. The macho culture of uniformed public services can sometimes feel especially threatened by homosexuality in its midst. Despite official policies of acceptance, it's hard to change deeply ingrained attitudes.

One hopes things have improved since Robert Ranger was forced to leave his job at the provincially run Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre in 2002 after cruel homophobic harassment.

Ranger's decade-long odyssey for compensation for the bullying that left him unable to work has ended with a $98,000 award from the Ontario Grievance Settlement Board, The Canadian Press reports.

The board, which handles complaints from Ontario public servants, has ordered the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services to pay the amount as compensation for the depression and anxiety attacks he still deals with.

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"The harassment and discrimination that created a poisoned workplace at OCDC was vile," board vice-chair Deborah Leighton wrote in the ruling.

"The chief culprit and his entourage taunted and humiliated Mr. Ranger repeatedly and the employer did almost nothing to address the homophobic atmosphere in the jail. The employer is liable for this failure."

The award is in addition to $244,242 in lost wages Ranger received earlier after repeated attempts to find him another suitable job within the government fell through, CP said.

Ranger, who began working at the detention centre in 1998, was subjected to abuse that included simulated sex acts and homophobic slurs for about a year before he felt forced to leave.

In one instance, Ranger was attending a training session when the chief bully told a series of homophobic jokes that made the whole class laugh, Leighton noted.

Leighton noted that although his tormentors were unionized employees — the chief bully was the local president — the ministry bore responsibility for "knowingly doing nothing to address the poisoned workplace."

"It is clear from the evidence that the harassment at OCDC was profoundly humiliating to the griever," Leighton wrote.

"Although he tried to ignore it, eventually it broke him. He felt victimized and lost self-respect. In his statement to the board, he describes himself as transformed to a bitter, distrustful person."

The deputy minister responsible for correctional services apologized to Ranger in 2004. But a ministry spokesman would not comment on this week's board ruling because Ranger's main bully now is suing the ministry.

Union lawyer Don Eady said the award gives Ranger, who now works for the parole board, little comfort.

"He'd rather, if he could, turn back time and never have suffered what he went through rather than get $98,000 in damages for that pain and suffering," Eady said in an interview with CP.

[ Related: Homophobic attacks prompt gay owners to close Manitoba restaurant ]

Ranger's compensation award was a record but by no means unique.

The B.C. Supreme Court last month affirmed a provincial human rights tribunal ruling that gave a Vancouver lesbian a $22,000 award after being subjected to a comedian's homophobic rant at a local restaurant.

The Globe and Mail reported comedian Guy Earle and restaurant owner Salam Ismail had appealed the tribunal's decision, stemming from a 2007 incident, which started when Earle spotted Lorna Pardy kissing her partner. It escalated to a physical confrontation that ended with Earle shoving Pardy and breaking her sunglasses.

In his ruling, Justice Jon Sigurdson said comedic expression, even in poor taste, is constitutionally protected, but: “Here the conduct and expression in question was not part of any performance per se, it was not a response to hecklers in the audience, and it was coupled with physical abuse. The comments by Mr. Earle were some distance from the core values underlying the freedom of expression.”

A 2011 Quebec Human Rights Tribunal ruling awarded a Montreal gay couple $12,000 for enduring homophobic remarks from a neighbour, according to CBC News.

Theo Wouters and Roger Thibault claimed Gordon Lusk hurled homophobic slurs, invitations to fight and death threats at the pair, and their children also shouted anti-gay remarks, the tribunal said.

In the United States, the Indianapolis school system recently reached an out-of-court settlement with Darnell "Dynasty" Young, who was expelled for confronting homophobic bullies with a stun gun, according to USA Today.

Young and his mother sued public school authorities, alleging the school district discriminated against Darnell by failing to protect him from the bullies despite repeated complaints.