MONTREAL - A Quebec comedian has been ordered to pay $35,000 in moral and punitive damages to a young artist for jokes about his singing and his disfigurement.
Mike Ward also has to give Jeremy Gabriel's mother $7,000.
The Quebec Human Rights Tribunal has ruled Ward made discriminatory comments about Gabriel's handicap during shows between 2010 and 2013.
Gabriel, who is now 19, has Treacher Collins syndrome, a congenital disorder characterized by craniofacial deformities.
He is well-known in Quebec and sang for the pope in 2006. He has also performed for Celine Dion.
The judge in the case said two basic rights were in play: freedom of expression and the right to protection against discriminatory comments. He ruled in favour of the latter.
