Pride Winnipeg | 2015

The LGBT* Chamber of Commerce president Paul Hesse (centre) joined celebrants when the organization rebranded in 2013, following 25 years as the Lambda Business Chamber. Photo by Darcy Finley

LGBT* Means Business Diversity brings economic benefits

more choices for Manitobans.” Known until 2013 as the Lambda Business Cham- ber, the recently-rebranded LGBT* chamber seeks to cultivate and contribute to a thriving commun- ity of LGBT businesses and allies, thus ensuring a strengthened Manitoba economy that’s both sup- portive of and supported by diverse communities. Membership comes with a host of benefits, includ- ing seminars and networking opportunities, business- to-business sales and member-to-member discounts on everything from travel to leadership training. The chamber is also the province’s only affiliate of the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Com- merce’s supplier diversity program, which puts local members in a position to benefit from potential con- tracts with larger organizations seeking to diversify their supply chain. Since its rebrand, the LGBT* chamber has con- tinued to grow its membership, strengthened its relationships with the Winnipeg and Manitoba Cham- bers of Commerce, and drawn healthy crowds to its monthly networking meetings and mixers — even in inclement weather. “(Our April AGM) was standing room only — that was for a breakfast meeting, during a blizzard,” says Hesse. “Trucks were going into the ditches, and we still had standing room only.” Over the coming year, Hesse looks forward to mak- ing further inroads into rural Manitoba, where grow- ing support for the LGBT community is reflected in the success of such events as Brandon Pride and Thompson’s Pride North of 55 festival. Closer to home, the chamber will again play host to its two-day PrideMART during the Pride Winnipeg Festival, gathering member businesses, allies, and other vendors and artisans to The Forks on Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14. Chamber members will also mark the week by hosting a Pride in Business after-work mixer, on June 9, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at RBC Dominion Securities, 201 Portage Ave. For more information on the chamber and its Pride Week plans, visit mb-lgbt.biz . ◗

Thankfully, it’s the exception to the rule these days. But Manitobans nonetheless got a bit of a buzzkill re- cently when reminded LGBT businesses — and even their allies — can still fall victim to the prejudices of the past. Earlier this spring, a proposed merger between the Access and Assiniboine Credit Unions was scuttled when an Access member from Winkler discovered Assiniboine was supportive of the LGBT community. An incensed Facebook post made the rounds, Christian values were invoked, and the merger vote failed by a slim margin — disappointing parties on both sides and again painting rural Manitoba as pain- fully out-of-step with the times. For Paul Hesse, president of the Manitoba LGBT* Chamber of Commerce, the vote proves how many opportunities still remain for extending networks fur- ther outside Winnipeg — providing support to LGBT- owned and -allied businesses in markets of all sizes, and spreading the message that being LGBT-friendly is good for business. “It’s not a negative factor that a credit union does business with the LGBT community or employs LGBT people — that’s actually an asset,” says Hesse. “We are all Manitobans, and we all have a right to use services and to be employed. If a credit union reaches out to those customers and employees, they are doing a service, not only to the community but to their organization, as well.” As Hesse notes, the incident comes just two years after a pair of restaurant owners in Morris cited a rash of homophobic incidents as their reason for closing up shop. He says such setbacks are unfortunate not only because of the intolerance on display, but because they deprive smaller towns of economic opportunities. “If a restaurant shuts down in a small community, that’s a loss for the community — it’s a loss of servi- ces and a loss of jobs,” he says. “Awareness, education, networking, and building the idea that having an inclusive community and sup- porting diverse businesses is really good for Mani- toba and the economy. It means more choice for con- sumers, it means more creative businesses opening, and it ultimately means a more vibrant economy and

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Awareness, education, networking, and building the idea that having an inclusive community and supporting diverse businesses is really good for Manitoba and the economy.