Mounties must retrain, pay Muslim cadet

TORONTO, April 17 (UPI) -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police must retrain a Toronto-area Muslim man who was kicked out as a cadet nine years ago and pay him $650,000 in lost wages.

A Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled Iranian-born Ali Tahmourpour, 35, was discriminated against in 1999 when he was discharged from training because he refused to remove a religious pendant, the Toronto Sun reported Thursday.

He was in his 14th week of training, which lasts 22 weeks in Regina, Saskatchewan, when the incident occurred, the report said. The RCMP also said at the time Tahmourpour had failed to clean his rifle properly, the tribunal heard.

The tribunal's 65-page ruling ordered the RCMP to offer a spot to Tahmourpour in the next cadet training program, along with the lost wages and other compensation, the Sun said.

"This is a feeling of vindication for me," Tahmoupour said. "I have always said I can become a Mountie if I was given a fair chance."