On Monday, Canmore Pride asked Valbella Gourmet Foods for donations to this year’s Pride event, as they have successfully done with other area businesses. But the answer they got on Tuesday morning was not what they expected. “You couldn’t pay me to endorse anything to do with childcare freaks,” said an email from “Jeff von Rotz,” where the author identified himself as the owner.
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“Please keep these sick people away from the children of this community,” the email continued. “You should be disgusted with yourself.” Story continues below ad The email — purportedly sent by the son of the deli’s founder — purported to be “some organization that woke up mentally ill enough to help you … but it’s not Valbella’s.” Canmore Pride co-chairman K Kealy was shocked by the response sent shortly after 7:30am. “I did not expect such a response,” they told Global News. “I know there are people who are homophobic, transphobic and that sort of thing. To be so outwardly, almost proudly transphobic is so sick and so disappointing and shocking.” 2:05 Canadian study finds ‘significant’ wage gap among LGBTQ2S+ workers Canadian study finds ‘significant’ wage gap among LGBTQ2S+ workers – July 19, 2022 The inclusive climb is planned for the 2022 Canmore Pride weekend in mid-September and is one of several organized with local group Crush Collective. But it’s the first time Kealy can remember that the local pride organization – just two years old – has received an abusive response. Story continues below ad “Canmore Pride has generally had such positive and supportive feedback from the community,” they said. “As a trans and queer person, I’ve definitely received some comments or transphobic experiences within the community, generally from individuals, not usually from businesses.”
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The Canmore business, first established in 1978, was quick to respond after backlash on social media. “The owners and leadership of Valbella Gourmet Foods deeply apologize to the Canmore LBGTQ+ community for an intolerant email sent earlier today by one of our former team members,” the company wrote in an email to Global News, adding “ the words of one person do not reflect the opinions of the many people who work as members of the Valbella team. “The person responsible has been removed from the company and its operations.” Story continues below ad Von Rotz did not respond to requests for comment from Global News. Kealy said Canmore’s LGBTQ community questions the authenticity of Valbella’s statement, given the initial response that apparently came from the company’s owner. “And as a family business… how will he no longer make a profit from the business?” said the Canmore Pride co-chair. “What are they doing to support their staff right now? “We’re trying to put on an event, just to make a safe space, have fun, literally eat some burgers, and then have such a hateful response that’s also filled with these horrible stigmas about the trans community that are just not true (and) it’s based on literally nothing – it’s just based on hate and whatever conspiracy theories people have about trans people.”
Community Pride
Global News spoke with an employee at Valbella’s Canmore location, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of backlash in the small town. “I’ve always known the owner and a lot of the people who work (at Valbella) are pretty conservative, but I had no idea how far it got,” they said, adding that they don’t agree with transphobia or hate directed at the queer community. That employee said seeing the email on social media left them “reasonably disgusted”. Story continues below ad
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“You don’t have to be a liberal, or even an ally, to see how disgusting this behavior is. “He could just say no or come up with an excuse. It’s much better to hurt and curse people,” the employee added. Trending Stories
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“These are people, you have to treat them like people.” 3:34 Camp fYreflY LGBTQ2S+ programming in demand in rural Alberta schools Camp fYreflY LGBTQ2S+ programming in demand in rural Alberta schools – June 17, 2022 Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert supported the city’s LGBTQ community, saying they make the city “a more vibrant and diverse place to call home. “We all belong. We are all valuable members of the community. We are enriched and stronger in spirit when we embrace all the wonderful culture, experiences, skills and identities individuals have to offer,” the mayor said in a statement. Story continues below ad The town of Banff said it stands with Canmore in solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
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“We may be two cities, but we are one community that is welcoming, diverse and supportive of all,” the city posted on Facebook. “Hate speech, in any form, is unacceptable.” Calls for a boycott of the company and other retailers that carried Valbella products quickly spread on social media. The nearby Banff Center for Arts and Creativity said on Twitter it would sever ties with the Canmore company. Following the recent announcements made public today to the Bow Valley community and Valbella Gourmet Foods, the Banff Center has chosen to remove all Valbella products from the company’s operations and will forfeit any business relationships. — Banff Center (@banffcentre) July 26, 2022 Story continues below ad “Following the recent announcements made public to the Bow Valley community and Valbella Gourmet Foods today, the Banff Center has chosen to remove all Valbella products from the company’s operations and will forfeit any business relationships,” the center wrote. The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said it was saddened and disappointed to learn of the hate speech and announced that effective immediately, it will no longer do business with or purchase from Valbella. Calgary-based organic food retailer Blush Lane announced a similar decision on social media, saying they were “shocked and incredibly disappointed to hear about the harmful and hateful comments made by Valbella. A statement from Blush Lane Organic Market regarding the termination of their relationship with Valbella Gourmet Foods, posted on Instagram on July 26, 2022. Instagram “We have immediately terminated our relationship with Valbella as a vendor at both Spud and Blush Lane,” the company wrote. Online farmers market Cultivatr CEO Dan Berenzan decried the hateful comments. Story continues below ad “We have just been made aware that one of the sellers on our platform has made disgusting and hateful comments about the LGBTQIA2S+ community,” Berenzan’s statement said. “We have immediately suspended the sale of products from this company.”
An age-old conspiracy theory
The moral panic and conspiracy theory of the alleged predation of LGBTQ children can be traced back to Anita Bryant in the 1970s, according to Dr. youth. “Many will remember this name as a former Miss Florida who led an anti-gay crusade across North America,” Wells told Global News. “Actually, it came to Edmonton and Calgary in the late 1970s as part of the Save Our Children campaign, which was the premise that LGBTQ people were pedophiles, they were pedophiles, they targeted children in schools, they infiltrated schools and occupations. that they could have access to the children. Story continues below ad “And in fact, she and others on the religious right fought against any city ordinances that included sexual orientation as a protective ground against discrimination and actually succeeded in getting cities to revoke those rights and protections.”
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Wells noted that until 1998, Alberta did not protect homosexuals in its human rights legislation, the result of a Supreme Court ruling. Eleven years later, Alberta became the last province to add “sexual orientation” to human rights legislation. Also in 2009, Bill 44 allowed parents to exclude children from discussions about sexual orientation, human sexuality or religion in school. And in 2015, gay-straight alliances, or GSAs, were allowed in schools across the…
