A 21-year-old Metis woman who converted to Islam has filed a human rights complaint against her former employer alleging she was fired because she refused to shake hands with male coworkers.

Chantal Hamel was terminated during her sixth shift at RSVP Customer Care Centers, a downtown Vancouver call centre, because she was "not doing a good enough job," according to a document on the B.C. human rights tribunal website....

Hamel, who also wears a Muslim headscarf and eats only halal meat, said the meeting was proof her employer had a problem with her religious restrictions.

"I know that if I wasn't wearing the hijab, I'd probably still be working there," she said. "I'd be treated very differently."

Hamel, who said she tries to follow to Qur'an as exactly as possible, said she's noticed a marked difference in employers' treatment of her since she converted to Islam from Catholicism two years ago. [Link]