We spoke with Liane Tessier, the Halifax firefighter who will on Monday receive a public apology from the city and Halifax Fire for its misogynistic treatment of her. To accept HRM’s offer to settle and apologize wasn’t an easy decision for Tessier, who hoped that the ten-day human rights tribunal scheduled for October would expose the many culprits at HRM and the Fire Department who made her life hell for all these years. Now she has documented all the ghastly details on her website.

Former firefighter Liane Tessier finally gets her day in court. Tessier faced gender discrimination, retribution and gossip at the Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency department in 2005, and has been trying to get her case heard ever since. Now the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission (NSHRC) has set aside 10 days starting October 30 for a tribunal to look into Tessier’s allegations. I have written a lot about Tessier’s case over the years, and have nothing but admiration for this courageous woman.

“Sobeys regrets that this matter has taken so long to come to a conclusion.” That’s the best Sobeys can come up with in terms of apology in a recent racial profiling case. By skillfully exploiting flaws in Human Rights legislation Sobeys almost got away with racism. Good thing Ms. Andrella David and the residents of Upper Hammonds Plains had other ideas.