B.C. Court of Appeal dismisses bid by City of Nanaimo to overturn human rights award

A sheriff enters the Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Monday, January 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Court of Appeal says the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal was reasonable when it found the City of Nanaimo fired a Black employee and discriminated against him on the basis of race.

The city had unsuccessfully sought a judicial review in B.C. Supreme Court of the tribunal’s decision that awarded Nanaimo’s former chief financial officer, Victor Mema, more than $600,000 for racial discrimination after his dismissal in 2018.

The Appeal Court ruling released Wednesday says that Mema had been appointed in 2016 and the tribunal found that he was the victim of discrimination because his race played a role in the decision to suspend and later fire him.

The ruling says those decisions were made by city council, which had considered a misconduct report against Mema over his use of a corporate credit card.

Mema was fired in May 2018, and he filed a human rights complaint a few months later, and though the tribunal found his card use for personal expenses “problematic,” the issue was whether race factored into his “adverse treatment by the city.”

The Court of Appeal ruling say it didn’t matter if the city had cause, because if his dismissal was racially motivated it would still violate the human rights code.

“But the issue before the tribunal was not whether Mr. Mema’s misconduct was a factor in the city’s decision. Undoubtedly, there were many factors,” the ruling says. “Misconduct and a racist motivation could coexist. Only the presence or absence of the latter was relevant.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.