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A fitness studio in Canada has stirred controversy by introducing different rates based on race, charging white patrons twice as much as their non-white counterparts.
R Studios, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has openly publicized that white individuals must pay a $30 fee for a single visit, while offering a $15 rate to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) customers.
Such a policy would violate Canada’s own anti-discrimination laws and amounts to ‘race-based economic segregation.’
Jeff Evely, a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces and a political figure for the People’s Party of Canada, shared on X that this pricing strategy breaches Sections 5(1) of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act.
Evely criticized the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission’s handling of human rights during the Covid pandemic, accusing CEO Joseph Fraser of creating unauthorized provisions to evade responsibilities related to complaints Evely submitted.
Evely plans to present his case to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeals, seeking a legal response to what he describes as an ‘institutional failure of backbone’ and highlighting the racially charged pricing policy, stating that there would be public uproar if the roles were reversed.
Pricing details on R Studios’ website clearly indicate the disparity: a $30 fee for white visitors compared to $15 for BIPOC clients for a single session.
The gym also appeared to offer an unlimited class membership at $149 for BIPOC customers – a $40 discount off the usual $189 rate.
R Studios, a trendy wellness gym based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, openly promoted a $30 ‘drop-in’ rate for white visitors with a heavily discounted $15 rate exclusively for BIPOC users
Jeff Evely, a retired Canadian Armed Forces veteran and candidate for the People’s Party of Canada called out the unfair policy that the gym was promoting
The gym has attempted to appeal to a cross-section of the community but has not explained by it is charging less for BIPOC members
The policy exploded into the spotlight over the weekend after Evely’s viral tweet was amplified by conservative media accounts across Canada and the US.
‘Should this be investigated or shouldn’t they be sued under human rights violations and targeted hate?’ asked one user.
‘Imagine if that was reversed, the uproar would shake the ground,’ wrote a second.
‘I’m white and my wife is Chinese so we would pay different prices?’ queried another, incredulous.
One user mocked the gym’s policy by writing, ‘I’m going to identify as Black to save 50 percent,’ while another declared, ‘I’m just not going anywhere I have to pay more. I don’t know how anyone would degrade themselves paying more based on skin colour.’
Early on Monday R Studios appeared to have quietly removed all reference to its race-based pricing from its website while also disabling comments across its social channels.
It only served to fuel speculation the studio is now backpedaling in the face of legal scrutiny and public condemnation.
‘I checked out the website and could not find this reference to different rates depending on race. So either this has now been changed or this is a false claim created by somebody… maybe a competitor,’ one potential customer wrote.
A Canadian boutique fitness studio sparked outrage after advertising race-based pricing that charges white clients twice as much as Black, Indigenous and other people of color
The gym regularly holds sessions for BIPOC members
The studio has not responded to a request for comment over its BIPOC pricing
‘All staff looks to be white, for what it’s worth,’ the user added.
Critics say R Studios’ racial discount policy directly violates Section 5(1) of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in services ‘on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, physical disability…’
It means for those running a public business, customers cannot be charged differently based on their race.
Evely said the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission refused to act on his earlier complaints, accusing Fraser of ‘dodging accountability’ and ‘making up his own extrajudicial provisions.’
One user noted how the gym was also offering a monthly membership discount for BIPOC
Later on Monday the BIPOC discount appeared to have been removed although the gym appears to prioritize hiring from the BIPOC or LGBTQ+ communities
‘Don’t let the NSHRC, Joseph Fraser, continue to defraud taxpayers of his big, fat salary, like every other senior bureaucrat in Nova Scotia,’ Evely wrote.
‘Like the rest of them, he’s not going to grow a spine anytime soon. Build a bandwagon for him to climb onto. Pressure works on cowards, like Joey.’
As of Monday, R Studios’s website had removed all mention of BIPOC-specific pricing but for many, the damage is already done.
‘Let the free market take care of this gym,’ one user posted. ‘If it doesn’t, the gym’s clientele will.’
The studio has not responded to a request for comment.
