PFLAG, which organized the retreat for the past eight years, announced the move Thursday.
LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG announced on Thursday that it had nixed the eight-year-old annual event at Canada’s Wonderland, after a park employee told a gay couple to stop hugging while they waited in line for the Lazy River last month.
A statement on the group’s Facebook page accused the amusement park’s management of being unwilling to “commit” to more robust sensitivity training for staff.
Bev Belanger, president of PFLAG Canada, said she couldn’t in clear conscience agree to continue Gay Day at the park without assurances of strong sensitivity training.
“I felt that if this could happen then the training wasn’t adequate or trickling down to staff,” she said in interview. “It was pretty disappointing.”
Park spokesperson Soulla Lindo did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Thursday. Earlier in the week, Lindo called the no-hugging request an “isolated incident,” and said discrimination is not tolerated at Canada’s Wonderland. She said all 4,000 park employees receive “human rights training,” but she did not answer questions on Thursday asking for more details.
Read More Here: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/07/14/gay-day-at-canadas-wonderland-cancelled-after-no-hugging-incident.html#DVP
