Hailey de Lisser says it can be a long process to fight for one's own rights. (CBC)

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has awarded an Abbotsford woman more than $26,000 in compensation after she lost her job in April 2006, while she was pregnant.

Hailey de Lisser will receive $21,000 for lost wages and maternity benefits, and $5,000 for injury to her dignity and feelings.

De Lisser had been working part-time since August 2005 at Traveland Leisure Vehicles Ltd. in Langley, a company that describes itself as one of Canada's largest RV dealers. Her twin sister, Heather Ouimet, was employed there full-time since July 2003.

De Lisser was supposed to fill her sister's full-time position when Ouimet became pregnant in 2006.

"And then I found out I was also pregnant, and slowly my position was just dissolved and I was let go," de Lisser told CBC News Tuesday.

"So you go from having an income to having no income, and having a second child is scary."

She said the company sacked her in April 2006 and hired someone who could cover her sister's job for the entire maternity-leave period.

De Lisser filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, which ruled in a decision released Monday that she was inappropriately fired and should be compensated.

The tribunal ruled Traveland placed de Lisser in a vulnerable position and made it difficult for her to find another job because she was pregnant.

"I just [want] to tell other people that this does happen and you can fight it. It's a long process but you can fight it and you can win your rights," said de Lisser, who has given birth to a boy.

Traveland's manager Dale Howes refused an on-camera interview with CBC-TV Tuesday, but he said he is surprised at the ruling.

He said he has not discussed with his lawyers whether to appeal the tribunal decision.

With files from the Canadian Press