Man says Air Canada racially profiled him

TORONTO, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal plans an investigation into whether Air Canada refused to allow a man on a plane because he is of South Asian descent.

Shahid Mahmood said the airline allowed his wife, born in Chile, to board the flight from Vancouver to Victoria in May 2004, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. But he said he was refused clearance even though he was born in Canada.

While the ticket agent told him at the time he was considered high profile, Mahmood said the airline told him later he did not have adequate ID -- he had a driver's license -- and that he was late for boarding.

Mahmood said he turned to the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2007, more than three years after the incident, because the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Transport Canada and the Security Intelligence Service all said they had no jurisdiction.

The commission decided the tribunal should determine whether Mahmood was a victim of racial profiling.

Mahmood, who lives in Toronto, is an architecht and political cartoonist.

"It's been a long time coming - you know, there've been two prime ministers and two American presidents and I still don't have an answer as to why this has happened," Mahmood told CBC News.