The owners of a Montreal-area hair salon announced they will be launching an appeal after Quebec’s Human Rights Tribunal ordered them in February to pay $500 in damages to a non-binary person who complained of discrimination.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, Station10 co-owner Alexis Labrecque said the decision to move forward with the appeal was prompted by an outpouring of support from clients, and other stakeholders, including Association Coiffure Québec — a non-profit whose stated mission is to defend the economic interests of entrepreneurs and hairdressers.
“We no longer feel alone,” Labrecque said, adding he’s unsure they would have had “the courage, resources or the motivation” to move forward without the association.
Labrecque said the appeal isn’t about the money, but about standing up for their principles and to show their disagreement with the tribunal’s ruling, which upheld an earlier decision by Quebec’s Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, known as the CDPDJ.
The years-long legal saga started in 2023, when Alexe Frédéric Migneault went to book an appointment for a haircut at the Station10 hair salon in Longueuil, Que.
At the time, the online booking form forced Migneault to specify whether the service was for a man or a woman.
Migneault told CBC News in an interview in February that “choosing whichever” box is something that non-binary people are often told to do, but Migneault said that option forces them to either become “completely invisible” or to “come out.”
Further interactions with the salon prompted Migneault to bring the case to the CDPDJ and in the interim, Station10 offered Migneault three free haircuts and changed its website to include a non-gendered option.
While the tribunal did not side with either party, it did agree that Migneault had been discriminated against and ordered the salon to pay the $500 proposed by the CDPDJ.
Stéphane Roy, president of Association Coiffure Québec, reiterated that the point of the appeal was to contest the ruling, saying the tribunal made mistakes and the decision was rushed and clumsy.
“It’s really directed at the court and the decision itself; it’s not a fight against non-binary people, not at all,” he told Radio-Canada on Wednesday.
Facing appeal is exhausting, client says
However, Migneault doesn’t see it that way, finding the decision to appeal difficult to comprehend.
“I don’t understand their decision at all,” Migneault said on Wednesday.
“It’s especially a waste of energy for me because I have to keep fighting to keep that small decision recognized and protected.”
Migneault said being non-binary in Quebec is tough, but everyone should feel included. They said the event had such a profound impact on them that giving up has not been an option.
They said facing this appeal is exhausting in terms of having to hire a legal team and retell the story, all while trying to uphold a legally protected identity.