Windsor Regional Hospital will once again proudly fly its Pride flag after a trio of vandals removed it early Tuesday morning.
The flag was flying at the Ouellette campus near the corner of Ouellette Avenue and Erie Street East. The hospital said it contacted Windsor Police once it learned it was missing.
The flag pole wasn't empty for long. Windsor Essex Pride Fest quickly replaced the old one.
"At Windsor Regional Hospital, we are committed to being inclusive, treating everyone with dignity and respect, and we acknowledge the @SLGBTQIA+ community's right to equitable care and treatment," read a tweet from the hospital on Thursday.
Pride flags have become a popular target of thieves across the country.
According to Statistics Canada, the country is home to one-million LGBTQ+ citizens, making up four per cent of the total population.
A report published by the agency last year stated members of the LGBTQ+ community were far more likely to be a victim of violence than the general population.
According to its 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, excluding intimate partner violence, 59 per cent of LGBTQ+ Canadians had been sexually or physically assaulted at least once. The statistic compares with 37 per cent of heterosexual residents.
Windsor-Essex Pride Fest runs from August 8 to August 13, 2023.
