The owners of a Steinbach hotel are refusing to bow to discrimination or hate, after they say a Pride flag was stolen and staff were harassed for supporting LGBTTQ+ people.
Days Inn by Wyndham Steinbach, which raised a rainbow flag earlier in June to celebrate Pride Month, was unable to put up a replacement, because the vandalized pole needed to be repaired.
“Hate calls and emails won’t stop us from celebrating Pride at Days Inn,” Justin Schinkel, chief operating officer of hotel owner Schinkel Properties, said in a statement. “The flag was vandalized Friday night. It’s sad, but it shows that we still need Pride events in 2024.”
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Justin Schinkel of the Days Inn by Wyndham Steinbach isn’t going to stop celebrating Pride, despite the threats and vandalism.
Schinkel’s statement said the company and its staff are “deeply saddened and concerned” by vandalism and harassing phone calls and emails.
“They want to make it unequivocally clear that they do not condone this sort of behaviour in any form and stand firmly in support of the Pride community,” the statement said.
The hotel said the “negative actions and words of a few” do not account for the majority of people in Steinbach, which it described as an “amazing” community.
General manager Cass Wieler said the Days Inn is committed to inclusivity and respect.
“Our hope is that the citizens of Steinbach can choose kindness instead of vandalism,” Wieler said in the statement.
Schinkel said the company plans to report the incidents to RCMP. His statement said similar vandalism has occurred in the past.
Steinbach Pride president Chris Plett said Pride flags were torn down outside two homes on the same night. He was disappointed when he learned about the flag-related incidents and harassing phone calls and emails.
“It’s sad that it’s still happening,” said Plett. “These people (responsible) feel outspoken enough and they feel scared enough to act out in such a radical and irrational way.”
Plett noted support for Pride in Steinbach has taken steps forward since Steinbach Pride formed in 2015 and the city’s first parade was held the following year amid resistance or no support in some corners.
Some local politicians, including Progressive Conservative MLA Kelvin Goertzen and Tory MP Ted Falk, have not participated in Pride events in Manitoba’s third-largest city, which has a reputation for conservative and Christian roots.
Plett said more residents are openly expressing support for the LGBTTQ+ community than in the past.
“It’s been very moving,” said Plett. “We’re trying to build those bridges and say to people this has always been here. It has always existed. Now, you just see it.”
With a “budding” queer community, Steinbach is just like any other city, he added.
“Whether you’re LGBTQ or not, it’s a great town,” said Plett.
Negative experiences, such as the incidents at the Days Inn, are outnumbered by positive ones, he said.
In an emailed statement about the hotel incidents, Goertzen said “abusive words or acts of vandalism are not acceptable.”
“There is no place for them in a respectful democratic society and I do not believe they reflect the values of the vast majority of Manitobans generally or southeast residents specifically,” he said. “Justin is a longtime friend and supporter, and I shared these sentiments with him personally after I saw his (social media) post a couple of days ago.”
Goertzen was one of four PC MLAs — along with Josh Guenter, Konrad Narth and Ron Schuler — who recently voted against proclaiming March 31 as Two-Spirit and Transgender Day of Visibility in Manitoba.
Afterward, Goertzen told Steinbach’s Carillon newspaper he took issue with the bill’s wording over youth having agency over themselves and gender-affirming care. He argued the age of youth wasn’t clear, gender-affirming care had many meanings and a broader discussion was needed.
The private member’s bill, introduced by Manitoba’s first transgender MLA, the NDP’s Logan Oxenham, received royal assent June 4.
Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk described the harassment and vandalism at the Days Inn as unacceptable.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “Whatever we think, we need to support each other.”
Funk said a resident who brought up the incidents during a conversation Tuesday was upset by what happened.
“This is probably the sentiment in Steinbach in general,” he said.
Funk did not attend Sunday’s Pride celebration. He said the festivities are held on the third weekend of June, which is when his family goes on an annual northern fishing trip that started 20 years ago.
Funk said Canadian flags, including a large one outside Steinbach’s city hall, have been stolen from public buildings recently.
Earlier this month, food truck operators withdrew from Altona’s Pride celebration, after threats of vandalism were made online before the event.
Hate crimes are considered to be extremely underreported. In 2022, police in Manitoba reported seven hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation, down from nine in 2021. Figures for 2023 are not yet available.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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