By Terry Vanderheyden
WINNIPEG, November 3, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A homosexual pornography shop that received a provincial NDP government-backed loan to begin business has gone under, leaving Manitoba taxpayers holding the ball for the $10,000.
Openly homosexual Industry Minister Jim Rondeau defended the decision to guarantee a loan for the venture, arguing that the store, Queer Closet, sold items that are not illegal. “It would be inappropriate for me to censor an economic thing as long as it’s legal,” he said, as reported by the Winnipeg Sun.
Rondeau said that if a start-up company has a bank-approved business plan it is eligible for the young entrepreneurs program. If the company fails, the province covers outstanding loans owed to the bank. “In this country we try not to discriminate against any racial or ethnic group,” Rondeau maintained.
Tory finance critic Gerald Hawranik said, “how could they possibly justify giving a loan that deals in pornography? Is it government’s responsibility to ensure the expansion of pornography in this province? I’d say no.”
“No (Progressive Conservative) government would give a loan to a business that deals in pornography,” Hawranik added. “That’s not something we should be promoting in this province.”