'It's an awful feeling': Blind woman denied Uber ride twice due to her service dog
A blind woman is speaking out after she says she was denied an Uber ride twice because of her guide dog.
Veronika Kanya called to get an Uber ride in Winnipeg on Sunday. When it showed up, Kanya said the driver told her he wouldn’t drive her and her service dog.
Then, when a replacement Uber came, the same thing happened again.
“I love this guide,” Kanya said. “I love all my guide dogs and it's just painful. Very frustrating when I get denied a service because of him.”
After waiting half an hour outside of her home, a third Uber finally agreed to drive them.
Kanya has been blind for more than two decades and says over the years she has been denied rides because of her guides, but it has been happening less and less.
“Just of nowhere I get these two in a row,” she said. "It’s an awful feeling.”
She says the drivers told her it was against Uber’s policy to have dogs in the vehicle, but Uber says this is not the case.
“We are disappointed by Veronika’s experience, and we share in her frustration,” the company said in an email to CTV News.
Uber also says a special team is looking into what happened.
“It is a contravention of someone’s human rights to deny them access to services on the basis of their service animal,” Karen Sharma, the executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission said.
She says common reasons for people denying service are that they have anxiety about dogs, or that they have allergies. Sharma says without medical documentation, it is illegal to deny the service.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) says instances like Kanya’s often go unreported because people are typically in a rush and don't have the time to report it, or they did not get the driver’s information.
“Guide dogs belong everywhere,” CNIB Advocacy and Community Outreach Lead Viva Dabee said. “It is the law. Wherever a person working with a guide dog would have access to in a public space, they are allowed to go.”
Kanya wants others to be aware of what happened to her.
“I’m going to look at this as an opportunity for change. An opportunity for awareness and opportunity for education,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.