Transgender discrimination suit abandoned

ST. CATHARINES, Ontario, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of dollars were wasted in a Canadian three-year human rights battle over a transgendered woman in a fitness club, its owner says.

In the summer of 2006, a man who was undergoing gender-transfer to female launched a complaint she was denied the right to use the women's change room at a health club in St. Catharines, Ontario, near Niagara Falls.

The club owner, John Fulton, told the Canwest News Service he suggested alternatives, such as she change at home or work or using a separate part of the club. Instead, he said he has spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and at least $100,000 in redesigning the club.

He claims the Ontario Human Rights Commission pressured him into admitting guilt and paying a settlement.

"They told me that I had to pay her legal fees, write a letter of apology admitting guilt and I could make it go away," Fulton said.

Abruptly last August, the woman withdrew her complaint. Fulton then appealed to recover his legal costs and was denied, with Commission Adjudicator Kaye Joachim saying the woman had done nothing wrong.

The woman has since left the city, the report said.