Canada’s Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission has fined a Saskatoon realtor $3,000 and issued an official reprimand for making hostile comments about transgender people on social media.
According to a CBC report, Murray Kurtenbach of Century 21 Fusion published posts on Facebook last October that included such comments as “I won’t use someone’s pronouns for the same reason I won’t talk to a schizophrenic’s imaginary friends” and “a good kick in the balls will solve your gender confusion.”
In issuing its fine earlier this month, the commission said Kurtenbach was guilty of ethics violations with “conduct that is disgraceful, unprofessional or unbecoming of a registrant in the course of his or her practice.” The ruling stated Kurtenbach “published posts on his Facebook page perpetuating transphobia” and “his posts were detrimental to the dignity of the trans community and to the public perception of the professionalism of the real estate industry as a whole.”
During the disciplinary process, Kurtenbach defending his remarks by stating they were “intended both as humor and as political commentary in support of the Saskatchewan government’s proposed legislation” related to pronoun policies in schools. He added that his social media posts were on his personal Facebook page and were not made in his professional capacity as a realtor, although the commission noted he “has since been educated by his broker that because he shares real estate-related information to that Facebook page, it has become a part of his business page.”
Photo by Vladimir Vladimirov / iStock
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