Manitoba government 'has your back' premier tells those facing anti-trans sentiment
'This is 1 province, 1 Manitoba and it includes everyone': Wab Kinew
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew invited his caucus members to stand with him and deliver one message to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, in particular transgender youth.
"If anyone is giving you a hard time, just know that the premier, the deputy premier, the ministers, the MLA and the entire government of Manitoba has your back," he said, speaking at the legislative building.
Those words came during a Pride Month celebration at the legislature on Thursday, where Kinew said there's "a lot" of anti-transgender sentiment in Manitoba.
"It's really mean-spirited," he said, adding that those who are spreading it won't get away with it.
"This is one province, one Manitoba and it includes everyone," Kinew said.
WATCH | Manitoba has your back, premier tells 2SLGBTQ+ community
While Pride is about advancing human rights and fighting to take up space the 2SLGBTQ+ deserves to have, it is also about reminding what people can achieve when they look after one another, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said.
"In Manitoba, our government is working with each and every one of you to make sure that we set that standard," they said.
"Everywhere else in the country, if you can believe it. They're a little jealous of Manitoba. They're a little jealous of what we have going on here."
But it's important now more than ever that the community shines together in hopes of letting 2SLGBTQ+ people outside of Manitoba know "they are not alone," they said.
Drag queens put on a show during the Pride Month celebration at the legislature that also came with a commitment of $2.5 million in provincial funding to continue developing a housing complex and resource centre for the 2SLGBTQ+ community in downtown Winnipeg.
The funding is part of a multi-year commitment to the Place of Pride that the province said will help create a safe and welcoming space for more than 270,000 Manitobans and their families.
The $2.5 million will be used to add resources for programming, support and gatherings at the 12,000-square-foot community space operated by Rainbow Resource Centre, the province said.
Construction of the four-storey building at 545 Broadway, which provides affordable housing for 2SLGBTQ+ people, wrapped up in August last year.
About 30 people who are 55 and older have been housed so far, the province said.
Rainbow Resource Centre said last year that the next phase of the project would include counselling rooms, a library, a cafe and permaculture gardens.
The new funding announcement brings Manitoba's total commitment to the Place of Pride to $5.5 million.
"This is about acknowledging the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Manitoba, taking up rightful space in places that we were never meant to be, that the community was never meant to be," Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said.
"It is more than just symbolic … 2SLGBTQIA+ relatives deserve to be in every space, they deserve to be seen, they deserve to be protected."