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Canada's highest court has refused to hear arguments on whether the word "kemosabe" is a racial slur.

"We're disappointed," Mayann Francis, chair of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, said in a release.

"We thought this case might help establish clearer guidelines for dealing with discrimination and the cultural differences one finds in a diverse workplace."

The Supreme Court of Canada is not required to give reasons for agreeing to or rejecting an appeal.

The human rights commission turned to the Supreme Court to hear an appeal in the case of Dorothy Kateri Moore, of Membertou.

Moore filed a complaint with the commission in 1999, saying her boss and a co-worker at Play it Again Sports in Sydney discriminated against her by calling her "kemosabe."

In February 2004, a board of inquiry looking into the complaint ruled that Moore hadn't clearly shown she was offended by the remark so discrimination didn't take place.

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