Canadian Transportation Minister Marc Garneau is “very upset” that WestJet airlines “outed” a transgender passenger while trying to verify his identification.
As CBC News reports, Garneau is passing on his concerns to the company.
“When the incident was first reported, the Minister instructed his office to get in contact with WestJet so that measures are taken to prevent this type of incident from reoccurring,” spokesperson Delphine Denis emailed CBC.
“Canadians are proud of our country’s diversity and inclusion. Minister [Marc] Garneau strongly believes that all passengers must feel safe to be themselves when travelling and is very upset about this incident,” Denis wrote.
Lenore Herrem confused WestJet personnel because the male picture on his ID card did not match the female name on his boarding pass or the appearance of the person standing before them.
Herrem complained that the airline agent exposed his transgender status “in front of the whole airplane.”
“She said something like, ‘Oh, that’s not the name I remember seeing on the computer when I looked at it,’ and she started spouting off different, other women’s names that were not mine,” Herrem told CBC News.
“She rolled her eyes at me and said, ‘Are you sure it wasn’t your girl name that was on the computer?’ … She outed me in front of the whole airplane.”
WestJet has already apologized to Herrem for the incident and even reimbursed him for the flight.