Tories press replay on Kinew’s old hip-hop lyrics

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This article was published 17/05/2023 (915 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba politicians got into a verbal tussle Wednesday over who is a better defender of LGBTTQ+ rights.

When asked to condemn homophobia and book banning — after recent thefts from a Winnipeg elementary school and amid a brewing controversy in Brandon — the Progressive Conservative government responded in question period by attacking NDP Leader Wab Kinew’s past.

“We and everyone on this side of the house condemn acts of violence and hate towards anyone in Manitoba, including the (LGBTTQ+) community,” Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Obby Khan told the house.

“Can the leader of Opposition stand up and say the same thing? No, wait, he can’t,” Khan said, citing homophobic lyrics from Kinew’s hip-hop music career that are more than a decade old, and for which Kinew has publicly apologized numerous times since 2014.

“I am so grateful to live in a country where people learn and grow and develop new ideas over time,” NDP MLA Lisa Naylor shot back at Khan. She’d been asking the government to take a “clear stance” on human rights and condemn homophobic acts and rhetoric.

In the past week, Riverbend Community School has had its Pride flag and several classroom books on Indigenous and LGBTTQ+ issues stolen. An anonymous note “full of hate” was left on a window, its principal told media.

In Brandon, a delegation pushed the local school division board of trustees to ban certain LGBTTQ+ and sex education books from its libraries.

Premier Heather Stefanson and Khan both said they respect the rights of all Manitobans, but also the autonomy of school divisions to decide what books are allowed.

“We want urgent action,” said Naylor, the member for Wolseley. “We want a premier that can say no to homophobia.”

That prompted a response from Families Minister Rochelle Squires, who cited more lyrics from Kinew’s hip-hop days, telling the house he “launched his career on misogynist and homophobic attacks.”

The governing Tories are bringing up his past out of desperation, Kinew said after question period.

“It’s a reminder that the PCs can’t contest this election on health care, nor can they say that their views on potential book bans here are in line with the values of most Manitobans,” he said in an interview. “That’s why they resort to scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said Wednesday’s targeting of Kinew was “a distraction and a deflection away from an incredibly important issue… What matters most is what’s happening in school divisions, not what the leader of the Opposition ever said.”

The premier, who was not available for an interview Wednesday, is taking part in the annual Pride Winnipeg parade June 4 by walking in it rather than speaking at it.

“I look forward to marching… and being part of this wonderful event in which thousands of people gather to celebrate diversity and inclusivity across our beautiful province,” Stefanson said in a prepared statement.

Last year, Pride Winnipeg stated publicly Stefanson would not be invited to speak at any of its 2023 festivities “due to the blatant disrespect shown to our community,” after she spoke at its rally outside the Manitoba legislature then skipped out on the solidarity march.

“She is respecting the decision of the organization and community,” Pride Winnipeg president Barry Karlenzig said in an email Tuesday.

In 2019, the organization adopted a policy requiring all political leaders invited to speak at the annual Pride rally to also march in the parade immediately afterward.

Stefanson blamed a scheduling conflict and a miscommunication between her staff and Pride Winnipeg organizers for the 2022 controversy.

“She will be walking in the parade this year to show solidarity,” Karlenzig said ahead of the May 26-June 4 festivities.

“Many” members of her PC caucus, including Squires and Khan, are also taking part in the march, and a government representative has been invited to speak at this year’s rally, a PC spokesperson said in an email Wednesday.

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As for showing solidarity, Stefanson has squandered an opportunity, said Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders.

“She has a chance to really protect and support and uplift a community that is continuing to be, and increasingly, under threat by others, and yet she has not chosen to do so,” said Saunders, whose daughter identifies as trans.

“I think that is what’s going to stick in the minds of Manitobans and folks that are part of the (LGBTTQ+) community,” Saunders said. “They were looking to her for leadership and support and ally-ship, and she didn’t do that, unfortunately.”

— with files from Danielle Da Silva

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.