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Likewise, Cyrynowski did not make any attempt to follow-up with Danielle. On April 30, he filed a complaint against Danielle, alleging discrimination on the basis of family status in violation of the Alberta Human Rights Act. “I applied for a caregiver job on Kijiji. I was asked if I have children. I do not. I did not get the job,” he wrote in his complaint.

On June 6, the Alberta Human Rights Commission accepted Cyrynowski’s complaint against Danielle, and sent her a letter requiring that she provide a detailed response to the complaint. On June 21, Danielle provided her written response to the complaint, explaining that she had hired a person who lived in her neighbourhood and worked right next to her children’s daycare.

The JCCF, a legal advocacy group based in Calgary, wrote a letter to the Alberta Human Rights Commission on Aug. 28, calling on the Commission to dismiss the complaint against Danielle and respect the rights of children and parents protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Calls for case to be dismissed

This is not the first complaint filed by Cyrynowski.

One dated Sept. 1, 2017, involved a father named Todd who also posted an ad on Kijiji looking for a babysitter for his two young children. Cyrynowski said he received a message 10 minutes after applying asking for his age and gender. “I told him I’m male and 28 years old,” he wrote. “I never heard back from him since.”

After announcing that it would represent Todd pro bono, the Justice Centre learned of Danielle’s case and agreed to represent her on a pro bono basis until the complaint was dismissed.