When Jason Carruthers—the owner of a Windsor, Ontario waxing spa—could not find a way to accommodate a transgender woman's request to have her male genitals waxed, he had no idea that it could cost him tens of thousands of dollars.

But after a six-year-long battle, Carruthers has been ordered to pay a hefty sum to the anonymous claimant—$35,000 plus interest.

"They have given me, I believe, 30 days to pay," said Carruthers in an interview with Rebel News.

The claimant, identified only as AB, filed the complaint at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario after she spoke to Carruthers over the phone in 2018. Carruthers explained to AB that that the female employee working that day was Muslim and refrains from physical contact with males beyond her family.

The decision against Carruthers claims that he had misgendered AB.

The small business owner told Rebel that the complainant changed her story by denying that she had ever asked for a Brazilian wax service and instead only wanted a leg waxing. Carruthers says that his business has always provided leg waxing services to trans clients, but that this was never part of her request.

Carruthers told AB that he did not have anyone who could provide "male waxing services," something that Carruthers explained was in reference strictly to male biological genitalia, and not in reference to the claimant's gender.

Carruthers had gone to the media after AB's human rights complaint. That's where he referred to "male Brazilian wax[ing.]" This was enough for the adjudicator to count as reprisal for the human rights complaint.

"They're saying that I discriminated against the person, but they're also saying that I reprised when I spoke to the media. So those two things are factored into the amount," said Carruthers to Rebel News.

AB would claim that the remarks "opened up a non-consensual public conversation as to the status of her physical transition," which traumatized her, according to the decision.

Carruthers says that the decision is unjust, and will be fundraising to apply for a judicial review.

"I don't agree with it," he said. "I'm looking at every avenue to fight this legally. I'm applying for a judicial review. My lawyer has already got the paperwork started for that."

"Of course, that's expensive, I've already faced a lot of expensive legal services, so I'm considering fundraising through a GoFundMe campaign."

"As far as I understand, the tribunal has the power to seize assets or take my income or garnish my income, so I have to look at every option to protect myself financially and legally," Carruthers explained.

In a response to CBC, Carruthers' lawyer Raymond Colautti called the ruling "deeply flawed" and said it "must be set aside."

The judicial application review says that there is no evidence to suggest that AB suffered from any harm, and that the damages charged to his client were "significantly" exceeding the "damages awarded in more serious cases."

The application also says that Carruthers only went to the media after AB allegedly threatened a "media circus" and posted a video about the business to a transgender organization's Facebook page.