[fredr123]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

2. Shouldnt a private establishment be allowed to decide who gets in and who doesn't.

Here's the piece of legislation in question:

Discrimination re goods, services, accommodation, facilities
4 No person shall
(a) deny to any person or class of persons any goods, services, accommodation or facilities that are customarily available to the public, or
(b) discriminate against any person or class of persons with respect to any goods, services, accommodation or facilities that are customarily available to the public,
because of the race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, physical disability, mental disability, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income or family status of that person or class of persons or of any other person or class of persons.

This begs the question when are goods, services, accommodations or facilities "customarily available to the public"?

According to the Human Rights Commission interpretive bulletin:

Determining if services or facilities are customarily available to the public
Some clubs and cultural organizations provide services to members only, or to members and their guests. This does not necessarily mean that those clubs or organizations are automatically exempt from the HRCM Act. The Act applies to goods, services, accommodation and facilities that are “customarily available to the public.” These factors can help you determine if a service would be considered customarily available to the public, or if it would be exempt from the Act: 4

1. How is membership defined? The more specific the membership criteria, the more likely the club is exempt. For example, a social club that limits membership to people of a particular religion sets very specific membership criteria, and is probably exempt.
2. Who receives services? The more that a club limits its services only to members, the more likely the club is exempt. For example, a club that does not allow guests to attend club events clearly limits many services to members only, and is probably exempt.
3. Is the service a commercial venture? The more that a club is engaged in non-commercial activities, the more likely the club is exempt. For example, a cultural association that provides most services to its members without charge is mainly non-commercial, and probably exempt.

The HRCM Act covers most commercially operated nightclubs and bars that require customers to become members. Any attempt to limit membership to this type of club based on a person’s protected characteristics is prohibited discrimination under the HRCM Act.