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[Leah Hennel/ Postmedia News]

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-cab-driver-suspended-after-gay-man-says-he-was-called-disgusting

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/calgary-taxi-driver-suspended-for-kicking-out-gay-man-and-calling-him-disgusting-for-kissing

Leah Hennel/ Postmedia News

The city has suspended a taxi driver's licence for one month after a gay man complained the cabbie called him "disgusting" for kissing another man while riding the vehicle home from the Calgary Stampede.

Nolan Hill reported the incident to 311 and turned to social media after he says he was kicked out of a Calgary United Cab on Saturday evening.

"I was just kicked out of a taxi and told that I was disgusting for kissing another man. I have lived in Calgary my whole life, and have never been disrespected as much as I was tonight," he stated in a Facebook post that has been shared and liked hundreds of times.

Naeem Chaudhry, manager at Calgary United Cabs, said the driver was suspended by the company, as soon as he was made aware of the incident on Monday morning.

"He's not driving with us," he said.

"We don't allow (our drivers) to make comments on someone's personal lifestyle."

Chaudhry said the city's Livery Transport Services became involved in the case and video footage from the cab was turned over to investigators.

"The moment I heard, I called the driver, asked his side of the story, then we pulled the memory card from his camera," Chaudhry said.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, the city announced that licensed taxi driver Stephen Eze is suspended until August 5, following "a complaint alleging discriminatory behaviour . . . toward two male passengers."

Once the suspension has been served, the future of Eze's licence will be determined at a Licence Review Hearing.

It's possible Eze's licence could ultimately be revoked, or he could receive additional suspension time or training related to diversity sensitivity.

Our investigation has shown the driver's actions were neither professional nor courteous

"Calgarians and visitors alike should feel safe when travelling in Calgary by taxi," Mario Henriques, chief livery inspector, said in a city news release.

"In this situation, our investigation has shown the driver's actions were neither professional nor courteous."

Hill said in a prepared statement that he's processing "what has been an overwhelming couple of days."

He said he appreciates the "incredible support" he's received since bringing the issue forward and noted he wanted to share his story to "highlight a broader issue in the city."

"I am happy that people are talking about this. It is an important conversation to be having here in Calgary," Hill said in the statement.

Chaudhry said the driver at the centre of the investigation has worked at United Cabs for about three months.

He said it's unknown whether United Cabs will allow Eze to return to driving with the company following the Licence Review Hearing.

REGINA — With the economy posting negative growth in the first four months of the year, some economists say Canada is heading into a recession. But Finance Minister Joe Oliver says the country is still on course to post two per cent GDP growth in 2015. So is Canada entering a recession and, if so, is there anything the government can do about it? As a former finance minister and prime minister, Paul Martin is uniquely qualified to answer both of those questions.

"Recession is a technical term,'' said Martin, referring to the definition of a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. "And we're going to find out if we're in one ... as soon as the next quarter's results are out. But if you look at the projections, they will tell you we are in a recession.''

For Martin, who was in town Monday attending federal Liberal Party meetings, the more important questions are: "What should we do about it, and what should we have done about it.''

Martin, who served as finance minister in the Chretien Liberal government from 1993 to 2002 and prime minister from 2003 to 2006, said when he and Wascana MP Ralph Goodale were finance ministers, they ensured monetary policy and fiscal policy complemented each other.

"It doesn't make much sense, when the Bank of Canada is an expansive mode, for the federal government to be in a restrictive mode and that's what's happening,'' Martin said, citing the Harper government's "failure to invest in infrastructure, discovery research, and education.''

He said the federal Conservatives are fixated on balancing the budget, not building infrastructure, at a time when the economy is struggling to keep its head above water. "Anybody who says 'I'm not going in invest in infrastructure because of the deficit' simply doesn't understand how the economy works.''

The federal government is also underfunding discovery or medical research. "The Canadian health care system is an enormously important social program. We should have invested in pharmacare, we should have invested in home care. These are the best ways of bringing hospital costs down,'' Martin said.

"But the health care system ... also gives us an enormous opportunity in the development of new pharmaceuticals, stem cells, and genomics."

Finally, funding education is the best investment a government can make. "I don't think there's an economist around who would not agree that the greatest return on investment any government can make is an investment in education.''

While education requires more federal funding "across the board," it's particularly needed in "very early years'' education and on-reserve aboriginal education. "The federal government, which is financially responsible for the education (of aboriginals) on reserves, is underfunding it to the extent of almost 50 per cent,'' said the founder of the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative.

If Canada wants to compete with nations of hundreds of millions of people, "you'd better invest in education of the population, and that includes the education of the most vulnerable, who happen to be (aboriginal people),'' he added.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Police say a 9-year-old boy has died after he was allegedly handcuffed and beaten for eating a piece of birthday cake without permission.

Hagerstown police Capt. Paul Kifer says Jack Garcia died Sunday at Children's National Medical Center in Washington.

Kifer says police will confer Monday afternoon with Washington County prosecutors about bringing additional charges in the case.

The mother's boyfriend, 30-year-old Robert Wilson, was charged Wednesday with first-degree assault and child abuse. His public defender hasn't returned calls from The Associated Press.

The mother's brother told police the boy was handcuffed Tuesday as punishment for stealing the birthday cake. He says Wilson hit the boy in stomach after the handcuffs were removed.

It's not clear whose cake it was. The boy had had a birthday three days earlier.

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