“Many people say we do not need Pride [month]”They have rights now, they do not need it,” said Tania, who is not binary and bisexual. “There is still some hatred. That’s why we still need Pride. “ Tania said they and their daughter were home on Thursday around 11:30 a.m. when someone climbed the front steps of their house. They heard a loud sound. When Tanya reached the door and looked outside, the flag was gone and there was no sign in the area. They then checked their home surveillance camera facing the front steps. The video shows a man in light-colored pants, a dark T-shirt, sunglasses and a baseball cap tearing down the flag and removing it. “It was fast, but the violence in action was like, wow, this guy has problems,” said Tania, a citizen who works for the Department of Defense. “I was in disbelief, like, this is not happening right now. I was pissed.” CLOCKS Security camera shows Pride flag being torn down:
The security camera shows the Pride flag being torn down
Camera footage on the front terrace of the West End house where Tanya St. lives. Jacques and their partner show a stranger tearing down a 2SLGBTQ rainbow flag on Thursday. They said in addition to being angry that they were also sad for their 13-year-old daughter. “He started to feel uncomfortable and scared because he is also a member of the LGBTQ community,” Tania said. “We had a wonderful time at [Pride] he paraded and commented on how everyone looks so happy and everyone was so accepted, and now that’s happening. “ Tanya St. Jacques says the Pride rainbow flag was torn from the porch of their West End home on Thursday. They said that video surveillance from their terrace recorded the incident and was submitted to the Winnipeg police. (Submitted by Tanya St-Jacques) Tanya’s husband, Jeremie St. Jacques, ran home from work when he heard the news. “There is no good reason for anyone to do that,” he said. “There is no good reason.” Jeremy said he reported the incident to the non-emergency department of the Winnipeg Police Department, which ordered him to send the surveillance material. A Winnipeg police spokesman confirmed that they had received a report on what happened in St. Jacques. West End resident and pastor Jamie Arpin-Ricci says what happened in St. Jacques is similar to what happened to him during Pride last month. On the afternoon of June 18, he says that the rainbow flag that he and his wife had on their front porch was stolen. “Those who saw it happen informed me that the man was screaming insults at our house as he violently knocked it down,” said Arpin-Ricci, a father of two, via email. “He did it in a place where our children often play. Last night, our neighbor’s flag was torn down.” He was upset after the 2021 incident, but decided not to leave it unanswered. “In the end, we decided to resist hatred and fear with a more permanent solution: We painted our front gate in the colors of the Pride rainbow,” he said. Jamie Arpin-Ricci and his family painted their fence with rainbow colors last year after a Pride flag was stolen from their home. (Jamie Arpin-Ricci) Arpin-Ricci leads a West End-inspired Church of the Baptists and Franciscans called the Little Flower Community. Former CBC Manitoba Future 40 Award winner Arpin-Ricci is bisexual and offers pastoral support to 2SLGBTQ Christians. He faced criticism from some in the Christian community when he started talking openly about his identity a few years ago. He is also known to Tania. The couple met in online queer sites when Tania was thinking of moving to the neighborhood and they have been in touch ever since. “The fact that this happened again in the West End is discouraging, as there is so much support from the majority of the community,” he said. “However, it seems that those who would do this generally get away with it, so they are bold.” Tanya says they believe that responding to hatred is more education for the general public, although they feel supported. When Tanya posted about the incident on social media on Thursday, they say that several supporters responded with plans to send a series of new rainbow flags to hang on their property. “Well, I’m going to Pride – I’m bombing the house,” they said.
