Another city we can add to the list of places where Muslim cab drivers are trying to make their passengers submit to shari’a law: Vancouver. Taxi firm settles with blind man refused ride because of guide dog.

And the British Columbia human rights tribunal is tying themselves into a pretzel trying to reconcile the rights of blind people with a Dark Ages belief system.

A blind Vancouver man who was shunned by a taxi driver who didn’t want a guide dog in his cab has reached a $2,500 settlement with North Shore Taxi.

Bruce Gilmour, 49, had called a cab from a West Vancouver coffee shop after a day of skiing in November 2006. But North Shore Taxi driver Behzad Saidy, a Muslim, refused to transport Gilmour and his golden retriever Arden, saying his religion prevents him from associating with dogs.

Gilmour, who has been blind for 30 years, filed a human rights complaint, alleging discrimination. “I’m tired of defending my dignity,” he said Wednesday.

Last Friday - three days before a B.C. human rights tribunal hearing - Gilmour reached a settlement with the taxi company. The agreement, issued by the tribunal, attempts to balance the rights of blind people with guide dogs to obtain taxi service with the rights of Muslim cab drivers to follow their personal beliefs. …

Under the terms of the settlement, North Shore Taxi was ordered to immediately establish a policy forbidding any driver to refuse a fare from a blind person accompanied by a certified guide dog. The only exceptions are for drivers allergic to dogs and those who satisfy the company that they have an honest religious belief that precludes them from transporting certified guide dogs.

The cab driver, meanwhile, is seething and whining. He’s a victim of discrimination. And torture. He doesn’t trust anymore.

But Saidy, the cab driver, claims he also suffered discrimination because he was told by a citizenship judge 15 years ago that he could practise his religion and culture. He said that as a Muslim, he cannot associate with dogs because they are considered impure.

Saidy said he often walks disabled people to their door or helps them into cabs and, in Gilmour’s case, he called the dispatcher to order another cab to collect him and Arden. “I felt for [Gilmour]. I’m sorry for him but I’ll never be sorry for what I did because I try to help people all the time,” he said. “I have lots of customers who are blind or disabled…but I can’t be close to the dog.”

“In my own company they say if you don’t take the dog you’re going to be fired. This is torture for me.”

Saidy said he agreed to the settlement because his religion was finally respected and he was exempt from picking up guide dogs. But, he adds, he’s not optimistic that’s going to happen. “I don’t trust anymore,” he said.