Worker who confronted Indigenous shopper is 'no longer with Canadian Tire'

Canadian Tire says that an employee involved in a confrontation with an Indigenous man caught on a Facebook Live video “is no longer with Canadian Tire.”

“The employee involved in the matter has not been working in the store since the incident and he is no longer with Canadian Tire,” the corporation announced Saturday on its official Twitter account.

“We have tried to reach Mr. Cappo again to express our sincere apologies,” said another tweet from Canadian Tire. “We take this matter very seriously.”

On Wednesday, Kamao Cappo, 53, broadcast the confrontation on Facebook Live. An employee can be seen on the video accusing Cappo of stealing and at one point appears to push him against a shelf.

Regina police have said they are investigating the incident as an assault.

Cappo told CTV Regina that he believes the fact that he is Indigenous was a factor in the employee’s response.

“I am doing that because I want store owners and managers to know that Indigenous people and other people of colours and minorities will be protected,” Cappo said.

“If a white person came in with their work clothes, I don’t believe this would’ve happened at all.”

Canadian Tire’s head office has issued several statements addressing the incident. On Friday, the company wrote: “Treating our customers with respect and courtesy is a core value of our company. We wish to again state that we have taken this matter very seriously and we have already taken steps to raise awareness and re-educate store staff on our values.”

WARNING: Some readers may find the following videos disturbing.

 

This happened today. We walked in to buy a chainsaw. We picked one and I was about to pay for it but the fuel mixture (40/1) was not to our liking, so we turned it over to customer service and went back to get another one. This general manager for some reason thought we were stealing. He became abusive when I refused to obey his order to leave the store.

Posted by Kamao Cappo on Wednesday, 26 July 2017

 

Posted by Kamao Cappo on Wednesday, 26 July 2017

With files from CTV Regina

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  Kamao Cappo is speaking out after staff accused him of stealing at a Canadian Tire store in east Regina. Cappo claims he was discriminated against because he's indigenous.

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  Protesters gather outside a Regina Canadian Tire store on Friday, July 28, 2017.

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  Protesters carried signs, beat drums and performed a smudging ceremony outside the store.