Former tenants are bringing complaints of racial discrimination against H-Mart, a large Korean grocery store chain, in connection with a mall in Langley, B.C., a suburb of Vancouver. Three small business owners are alleging that H-mart, who recently purchased the West Willow mall, refused to renew their leases because they were not Korean.

These stores have since been replaced by similar businesses run by Korean-Canadians, while the existing tenants were not given a chance to bid. Ousted owner John Pook of Pook Insurance claims that “we were being denied a lease based on race and ethnicity. It wasn't because they needed the space -- half the buildings in this mall are available for lease.” While Mr. Pook agrees that as H-mart did not breach binding contracts they did not expressly break the law, he argued that the three long-time tenants suffered human-rights violations.

H-Mart has so far decided to remain silent on this matter. However the company has enjoyed great success with similar Korean-themed malls elsewhere in the Lower Mainland region. Defenders of the chain have argued that it should be free to pursue what is viewed as a strictly economic decision.

The issue has sparked a great deal of debate throughout the country. Newspaper editorials and letters to the editor have argued that it goes beyond the legality of the lease renewals to a greater issue of defending multiculturalism. As B.C. Opposition House Leader Mike Farnworth said, "We're a multicultural society that is supposed to be building bridges, not walls." Farnworth has asked the Attorney-General to intervene and investigate the discrimination charges. With a complaint registered, the Human Rights Tribunal will now decide whether or not to hear the case.