Culture minister says province to cover repair cost after Islamic centre targeted

WINNIPEG — Government officials were left scrambling Friday to explain why the province is paying for repairs at a mosque recently targeted in a potential hate crime after a $1-million security enhancement fund was fully allocated in June.

Culture Minister Nellie Kennedy promised members of the Rahma Islamic Centre Thursday night that taxpayers would cover the estimated $3,000 cost of replacing windows shattered by pellet-gun shots.

“Since we formed government, we haven’t seen this kind of direct attack on a religious institution,” Kennedy said in an interview Friday.

“Let me be clear — we’re always going to support any religious institution who faces this kind of direct attack in any way that we can. At this point, it doesn’t matter if it’s a church, mosque, a synagogue,” said the minister, who was appointed in late 2024.

Kennedy, who is a Lebanese-Canadian and grew up in a Muslim home, attended a news conference at the Islamic centre on Watt Street Thursday night.

She said the Manitoba government would cover the $3,000 tab for broken windows.

One day later, she clarified it would be paid for through the Justice Department’s $1-million security enhancement fund for places of worship and cultural centres that was announced in late January following a series of hate-motivated attacks directed at the Jewish and Muslim communities.

On Jan. 2, Winnipeg’s Shaarey Zedek Synagogue was vandalized with spray-painted swastikas on the doors and windows, and the word “hate” on the stone exterior.

Later that month, a swastika was painted on the Abu Bakr Al-Siddique mosque and community centre in the West End.

The funding was earmarked for installing cameras and alarms, safety planning and repairing property damaged by hate-motivated vandalism. Last month, however, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the $1-million fund was fully allocated.

A government official speaking on background late Friday said that the Rahma Islamic Centre had not applied for the funding. The province was assisting it in applying for funding from another, broader justice fund. “It’s a unique circumstance,” the official said.

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan, a practising Muslim who attended Friday prayers with the Rahma Islamic Centre congregation, said he was surprised to hear the minister say the province is paying for repairs there.

He said the government should clearly spell out its policy and the funding that’s available to all faith groups.

“We are all together in this as Manitobans,” Khan said. “If the minister is going to do this for this incident, then I would encourage the minister to go back and have a change of policy to support all communities should they face acts of violence, of vandalism or be targeted for hate crimes.”

Kennedy told the Winnipeg Free Press later in the day that the province will continue to fund repairs caused by targeted attacks on faith groups.

“We’re going to do the same thing for any faith organization who faces a direct violent assault such as this,” she said.

The Manitoba Multifaith Council, a non-profit organization that includes Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Baha’i, Sikh and Hindu faiths, said it understands the government’s desire to respond when a place of worship has been affected by an apparent act of hate.

“Our concern is not the specific funding decision itself, but that all faith communities are treated with equal respect and consideration. If governments choose to provide assistance in situations like these, we would hope that such decisions are made consistently, fairly, and transparently,” president Christine Baronins said in an email.

“We remain focused on fostering unity and collaboration, standing with communities that have experienced acts of hatred or violence, and on promoting a Manitoba where people of every faith can gather and worship in safety and peace.”

The president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg said it’s grateful to the province for creating the $1-million security enhancement fund and recognizing that the community requires security upgrades to be safer and more secure.

“The Jewish community, like other communities in Manitoba that are facing hate-motivated crimes, is receiving a provincial grant to help synagogues and other Jewish buildings in Manitoba upgrade security infrastructure and to provide security at community events,” Jeff Lieberman said in an email.

The Manitoba Islamic Association did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

» Winnipeg Free Press

One member of the Muslim community asked whether the government paying for repairs at the Islamic centre on Watt Street is an effort to make up for Islamophobia that has been allowed to fester.

“This level of hate has been allowed to kind of spread in Canada,” said Labeed Ahmed, an Ahmadiyya Muslim.

He said governments have a responsibility to counter hateful messages, suggesting that the province recognizes not enough has been done and it literally wants to repair the resulting damage.

“I would leave it up to the public officials to hopefully do a good job,” said Ahmed.

» Winnipeg Free Press