Giant Tiger says worker who followed Indigenous customer is no longer with company

Giant Tiger says a loss prevention employee who was filmed following an Indigenous customer around a store in Regina last week is no longer working for the company.

In a statement issued Monday evening, the retail chain said it is doing a "rigorous internal review" of its loss prevention processes.

"Furthermore we are committed to ensuring that all stores understand the proper process for escalating and remedying concerns of this nature immediately when they are brought forward," it said.

Last week, 18-year-oldEzekialBigkniferecorded a four-minute video of himself being followed by aplainclothes employee while shopping at the Giant Tiger onAvonhurstDrive.

A lawyer in Regina said the video is a safety concern and a possible violation of human rights.

"As a company opening yourself up to the public, the public has a right to feel safe in that establishment," saidJeff Deagle, a partner at the law firm Hunter Deagle LLP.

"Your safety is sort of infringed upon when you have somebody following behind you the entire store."

Limits to loss prevention

Deaglesaid, although loss prevention employees are generally allowed to observe activity on the floor, that following a customer without an apparent reasonfor an extended period of time raised questions about the employee's motivation.

Deagle said employees can follow a customer for a short period of time if they witness suspicious behaviour, adding they could follow them for longer if they witness them stealing.

"It can't just be, 'I think that person looks suspicious, so I'm just going to follow him around the entire store.' There has to be something more, there has to be some kind of behaviour that is sort of out of the norm."

"Private store or not, I mean, you can't do things that will violate somebody's human rights."

Bigknife said he filmed the employee after he was followed by the same worker on numerous visits to the store.

A loss prevention officer and previous trainerspoke to CBC News andsays the point of the job is to work in the background in order towatch if someoneshoplifts, which is defeated if the customer knows they are being watched.

Company apologizes

Giant Tiger said it has reached out to Bigknifeto apologize and to update him on how the company is responding to the incident.

Since his video was shared on Facebook, thousands of people have watched and called out the store on allegations of racial profiling.

"I didn't expect it to go that viral that fast, I just wanted to show Facebook, like my friends and family what I was going through.