WINNIPEG – Dozens of supporters gathered Wednesday afternoon inside the entrance of Portage Place, calling for the mall and its security team to review the way they treat elderly and aboriginal customers.
The demonstration was sparked by a weekend incident where an elderly woman said she was bullied by security.
Annie Henry was shopping at the mall with her daughter and granddaughter Saturday but the weekend outing suddenly turned sour when the 80-year-old grandmother stopped to rest.
She sat on a planter in Portage Place to wait for her granddaughter to get the car. She told Global News Wednesday that security approached and told her to move.
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She did, but said security continued to follow her and eventually told her she had to leave the mall.
“I was traumatized,” said Henry. “I just broke up into pieces.”
Mursal Bihi witnessed the incident and said he overheard the guard tell the elderly woman to “go have a heart attack outside.” He said he was shocked the security guard treated her this way.
“We grow up getting taught that seniors have their rights,” said Bihi. “You don’t kick out an elderly person and tell them to wait outside on a cold day. That’s so wrong!”
Supporters told Global News it’s time Portage Place started respecting their elders and stop discriminating against aboriginals or they would boycott the downtown mall.
“They’re here to protect items, not disrespect elders,” said Chickadee Richard, one of the protesters.
It’s not the first time someone has complained about Portage Place security. This past Valentine’s Day, 36-year-old Julie Dyck sat on a planter while she was struggling to breathe during an asthma attack. She says guards hassled her and told her she had to find another place to sit.
Global News tried to contact Portage Place and Securitas, the security company contracted by the mall, but phone calls and requests for interviews were not returned.
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