The woman who organized a fundraiser for a local women’s shelter that was the subject of a controversial email from Deputy Premier Eric Robinson is speaking out.
Pamela Fox, owner of the Foxy Shoppe in Winnipeg, has released a letter demanding an apology from Robinson for his comments that the fundraiser for Osborne House was organized by "do-good white people."
Robinson criticized the event for featuring a burlesque performer, which he said exploited a vulnerable group in society.
Fox describes herself as a woman of colour and said she organized the fundraiser because she used the services of Osborne House to escape an abuser.
“As the organizer of the event, I am owed an apology by both Minister Robinson and (Special Advisor on Aboriginal Women’s Issues) Nahanni Fontaine, who spoke about me without verifying a single fact,” said Fox in the letter.
“To be called stupid for trying to give of one’s self as a human being to another, and to be called names and denigrated as women by our own government is very hurtful.”
Fox praised the staff at Osborne House and credited them with saving her life.
“I was able to lay my head down that first night in Osborne House after 12 years of not knowing what the night would bring and sleep in safety,” she said in the letter.
Osborne House CEO Barbara Judt has submitted a complaint to the Human Rights Commission over Robinson’s comments. She claims they represent a pattern of racial discrimination against her and the board of directors, who are predominantly white.
Robinson released a statement late last week apologizing for using the term “do-good white people,” but reasserted his belief that the fundraiser was inappropriate.
