Breastfeeding mom banished to basement of Toronto country club 'very pleased' with apology
Alexandra Shimo said restaurant manager hid her from view with a tablecloth
A breastfeeding mom that was escorted to the basement of a Toronto country club this weekend has now accepted an apology from the club's board president.
"Well I'm very pleased, said Alexandra Shimo. "First of all because the apology was public and second of all it was going to come with sensitivity training for the staff."
In a letter sent to the mother Monday morning, the board president of the Lambton Golf and Country Club wrote to "offer our sincerest apologies" to her and her family regarding her experience.
Shimo, her partner and their two-month-old Jacob were at the golf and country club for a charity event on Saturday.
Shimo says she was breastfeeding Jacob in a "discreet corner" outside the restaurant when a manager told her patrons had complained about seeing her breastfeeding while they were eating.
Shimo says the manager first used a tablecloth to block her from the view of other patrons and then led her into the basement to continue breastfeeding.
"I was a bit upset, because he sort of made it seem like I had been doing something wrong and what I was doing was shameful," Shimo told CBC News in an interview Sunday.
"Our staff member should have acted differently and not have asked you to move to another location at the club to continue feeding your baby. We deeply regret that this caused you to feel embarrassed," said Bob Beaumont, the president of the club's board, in his letter Monday.
Beaumont said staff will be educated on the Human Rights Code that prohibits discriminating against breastfeeding mothers.
In the letter, he also says staff will receive sensitivity training to make them aware "of the needs and rights of breastfeeding mothers."