When a teenager tells a parent they’re trans, all they’re looking for support and kindness. What they are not looking for is for the parent to search for someone or something to blame.

That is what happened to one trans teen in Ottawa, Canada, who’s parents discovered their trans son was wearing a chest binder.

The teen, who’s name we will keep anonymous, went to Venus Envy – an education sex shop, book store and haven for the city’s LGBTI community – in August.

Buying the chest binder for $40, he said he hoped to wear the binder so he would feel less dysphoric this school year.

But when the parent discovered the binder, they blamed the shop for ‘influencing’ their child and ‘making them trans’.

The complaint was the adult store should not have sold a chest binder to someone under 18, according to city bylaws.

Venus Envy owner Shelley Taylor has confirmed the complainant was a parent, according to a bylaw officer.

She says her store is the only one in Ottawa that offers products like binders and gaffs, and is therefore offering a vital service to trans youth and adults.

‘Do you need to have fake ID to buy something that confirms your gender? That’s good for your emotional and mental health?” Taylor asked the Ottawa Citizen. ‘Our goal is to make people comfortable and offer good service’.

She added: ‘We serve so many youth — mostly with their parents. They come from all over because we’re a trans-affirming kind of place.

‘For us, it’s an emotional thing when we see a queer or trans kid with their parents, because they have the support that most kids don’t.’

But this Ottawa teen did not have his parent’s support. Venus Envy Ottawa was handed a $260 fine (US$195, €170).

‘I am really sorry that my parent’s complaint got you fined,’ the teen said. ‘My parents are not accepting of my feelings, and my being transgender.

‘I didn’t mean for your great local business to get hurt when I told them that I bought the binder there, and I’m especially sorry for other trans teens that now can’t purchase a binder.

He added: ‘I’m really sorry! Even if I’m not allowed to present as male anymore, the few weeks that I had were great, and I thank you for being there for me when I needed it.

‘I really hoped my parents would support me, and I’m sorry that they reacted this way.’

Venus Envy have been forced to stop any LGBTI youth now from entering the store. Taylor is fighting the ban, speaking to staff at city hall and is hoping for the bylaw to change.

She has also put in an application for teens who are accompanied by a parent or guardian to shop in the store, but has had no response so far.