Indigenous man sick from kidney ailment booted off Greyhound bus, called ‘drunk’

What happened on his way home left him shocked and alone at 4 a.m. on the side of the highway.

John Murray
APTN National News
Barry Spence is an electrician who lives in the small town of Thompson, Man.

He also suffers from kidney problems and the nearest health service centre to deal with his ailment is 700 km south in Winnipeg.

He took a greyhound bus recently to a medical appointment for his kidneys.

What happened on his way home left him shocked and alone at 4 a.m. on the side of the highway.

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21 thoughts on “Indigenous man sick from kidney ailment booted off Greyhound bus, called ‘drunk’

  1. Why aren’t they providing better medical transportation for people who do t drive or have family to help them. This is absolute disgusting from First Nation leaders and Greyhound services along with RCMP for not doing anything

  2. Leave it to Greyhound to F— things up. That driver should be terminated–But No–that wont happen–They will probably reward the racist piece of dog shit—Wait , thats not fair to the Dogs–Thier shit is a STEP UP compared to this so and so–When is this crap going to end ? Not in my life time thats for sure–Just a damn shame–

  3. There is simply NO excuse for this patient to be refused admission back on the bus. I wonder how the driver came to the conclusion that he was intoxicated. When a person consumes even a small amount of alcohol, the smell is unmistakeable. Why didn’t the police officer do a breathalyzer on the gentleman to prove the driver wrong? There is simply NO excuse but an act of racism all around.

  4. Lawsuits seem to be the only thing these company’s understand be it a bus or a airline charge ridiculous fares and treat you like ……….!

  5. Take greyhound to court.

    File an application in provincial supreme or provincial superior court, sue them for damages. Get some justice.

    They will settle, especially if the copy of that police report is obtained and those emails and other communications have been included in an affidavit. For $300 it can be filed and greyhound will settle it due to the potential of viral negative pr that will damage their company more than this aptn report holds (still i will not ever take a greyhound, their policy should be to let people finish the damned bus ride if they are not harming others).

  6. I can’t believe the comments here. After what happened to Tim McLean, is it any wonder Greyhound has policies to follow if something seems wrong? Do they not have any obligation for safety to the other passengers on the bus? I’m glad things turned out well for the gentleman but come on people. Grab some common sense, if that’s possible.

    1. I don’t see how the two are connected.

      In one a man is murdered on the bus. Other than some pacing and mumbling in a foreign language before boarding the killer didn’t really draw attention to himself. He didn’t go to the washroom often, it’s hard to say if the driver would have been able to guess that the man was a killer.

      In the other a passenger was feeling sick and visited the washroom several times, to throw up I’m sure. He wasn’t rowdy, he wasn’t disruptive, he was sick.

      Tell me how the two are in anyway related? By your logic Greyhound should kick most men off the bus because they might do what some other guy did.

  7. Greyhound should pay a big amount of money to this poor man that could have died Anything could happen it they should be taught a lesson

  8. Prejudice and bigotry compounded by racist behaviour as well as stigma towards people with addictions. Everything should have been treated as a medical condition. There are so many issues playing out here. Lack of facilities close to home. A bus driver’s obvious bigotry. RCMP refusal to be supportive of vulnerable people. Sexist views that men must endure this kind of treatment. The reality that stereotypes ensure native men are abused in such a manner. I am just warming up. This whole situation is disgusting.

  9. So sad for him..not just because he’s indigenous..but he is a human being. No human being should be treated inhumane. I imagine nothing will come about this as usual..Prayers for the man and Karma to the fool.

  10. That’s just cold hearted cruelty. Wonder where the bus driver got his MD degree. – C

  11. grrrrrrrrrr, makes me so angry that people are treated so insensitive by rude and ignorant jerks like that bus driver, police were not much better. Good that his mom was able to get hold of someone to take him in for the night.

  12. I can’t imagine the fear this sick man had, of being abandoned by Greyhound, the RCMP, a nursing station. There’s already too many stories of Native people brought to the outskirts of town, where they were later discovered to have frozen to death. After Greyhound had already abandoned a teenager at a bus station in the middle of the night just last year, I believe, you’d think they’d have learned their lesson.

  13. For God’s sake! Since when is it a bus driver’s call to diagnose a passengers condition!!!

    1. He was checked out by the police who told the bud driver that Mr. Spence was not drunk. The bus driver didn’t believe them, I guess, and wouldn’t let him back on. He didn’t need to diagnose his customer, but he did anyway, he saw a First Nations man who appeared to be sick, going into the washroom often, and diagnosed him as drunk.

    2. I feel it IS THE RESPONSIBILITY for greyhound bus lines to provide their drivers with training in first aid. Perhaps this would not have happened. A few years back my indigenous friend was visiting at my home and when she left she was admiring my flowers as she went down the stairs. She fell on my cement patio and received a hairline fracture in one leg and a compound fracture in the other leg. I called an ambulance and she was taken to McKellar general hospital in THunder Bay. After examination by the emergency doctor, she was told to go home without treatment and come back on Monday when she could be seen by a orthopaedic surgeon. HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT FOR PREJUDICE? By the way, I had to transport her back to my place in my car. AND she had not been drinking. She had just got off work from the REGISTRAR GENERAL’S office.

  14. So racist makes me sick to my stomach I’ll make sure to share this story I travel greyhound 3×or more a yr and I’ll never use their company and this is why racism lives!!!

  15. This is so disturbing. To leave a vulnerable man to walk on a highway at night is inexusable. Greyhound must be held accountable for their actions.
    The RCMP responce is no better. The safety of this man should have been paramount.
    We all know why this event happened the way it did. I don’t need to say it. There will be no admittance from Greyhound or the RCMP for the way this human being was treated.

    1. I agree. This is outrageous! First the airlines, now the bus companies…

      I hope Greyhound investigates this and provides their employees with better and more empathetic skills and resources to avoid this disrespect.

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