Parking Official Fired After ‘Speak Perfect English’ Comment

A Saint John parking commissionaire has been fired for comments he allegedly made to a Syrian business owner while issuing a ticket.

Yamama Alabdin and her husband recently opened a new Syrian restaurant on Germain Street called Mashawi Zein.

On Monday morning, Alabdin had parked in a loading zone — like she does several times a week — to drop off supplies at the restaurant.

Zein Alabdin, her husband, said their son came into the restaurant a few minutes later to let his mother know the car was being ticketed.

“She went outside and told him [the commissionaire] ‘I’m moving,'” said Zein Alabdin during a phone interview Wednesday.

“He kept writing the ticket and told her ‘when you can speak perfect English, you can speak to me.'”

A nearby business owner who witnessed the incident posted a letter to the city on social media, leading to swift action by the city and the Saint John Parking Commission.

On Tuesday afternoon, Saint John’s mayor addressed the “unacceptable” incident in a video posted to Facebook, saying there is no room for racism of any kind in the community.

“An investigation was completed and the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires has been informed that the individual will have no role with the City of Saint John in the future,” Mayor Don Darling said.

Darling said the worker was employed by the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, which has a contract with the city’s parking commission.

The ticket was later cancelled by the city and the Alabdin family has received an overwhelming amount of community support in the days following the incident.

Zein Alabdin said despite being upset by the incident, his wife feels bad that the commissionaire lost their job.

“Her goal is to improve this community and make Saint John better,” he said about his wife. “She felt really bad when someone else lost their job because of her.”