MONTREAL, Que. — A Quebec trucking company has been ordered to pay $10,000 after refusing to consider hiring a female truck driver because of her sex.

Bernard Wolinsky, owner of Laurentian Shavings Products and Lanjay Peat Moss, was found guilty of hiring discrimination by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal after telling a prospective hire that women have too much difficulty removing snow from the trailers.

The case stems from a February 2008 incident in which a female driver applied for a trucking job with the company. When she showed up to apply for the job, she said she was told the company does not hire women and they refused to interview her.

The applicant had five years experience working part-time for a number of transportation agencies.

According to evidence heard by the Tribunal, Wolinsky told the woman “We don’t take women here. It’s very difficult for a woman to remove the snow from the roof of the trailers.” He then told a Commission investigator who notified him of the complaint: “I don’t hire women, it is my prerogative.”

The Tribunal found the woman applicant’s right to be treated with equality and dignity had been compromised. She was awarded $7,000 in moral damages and $3,000 in punitive damages.