A Winnipeg lawyer says she's still a little numb after being told to "go back to my own country" during a night out at a downtown restaurant on Saturday.

Priti Shah was at the Palm Lounge in the Fort Garry Hotel on Saturday night to have a bite to eat and see a musical group.

There was an issue with her meal and she was having trouble conversing with the server over the music so she got up from her table and made arrangements in the servers' area before going back to her seat.

That's when a pair of women seated at the table beside hers began motioning to her, waving their hands and saying something she couldn't quite make out — "telling me that I needed to chill, or take a pill, or something," she said.

"At first I thought maybe I knew them," Shah said. "So I went closer to the table, and one of the women put her hand up and shook it and said that I should go back to my own country."

Shah is Canadian-born and of Indian descent. Shah, who is also on the board of the Winnipeg Football Club, said she doesn't remember exactly what she said to the woman, but she feels like she didn't have a good response.

"I was completely shocked by the statement. It's something that I've heard before but not directed at me, and I love this country," she said.

"I'm as Canadian as it comes and I'm Canadian-born."

'Nobody did anything'

Shah said she went straight back to the server to tell him what happened and ask to speak to a manager.

"He responded that he was appalled by what was said and that he would make sure the manager came to speak to me," Shah said. "And I waited about 35 to 40 minutes before anybody came."

In the meantime, Shah returned to her table. While she waited, a woman who had been sitting with the two who spoke to her came over and apologized for her companion's behaviour.

Priti Shah says she told a manager at the Hotel Fort Garry's Palm Room that the restaurant didn't feel like a safe and hospitable environment. (Priti Shah/Facebook)

Shah said she accepted the apology and asked the woman if she'd like to join her but the woman declined, saying she wasn't comfortable.

"The bigger concern for me was the sense that, aside from this woman, nobody did anything," Shah said. "And despite her apology, I felt as if I needed to comfort her.

"I felt completely alone and isolated, and the longer I waited, the more shocked I was that this was happening."

When the manager arrived, Shah said she told him what happened and said the restaurant didn't feel like a safe and hospitable environment.

She said he didn't ask her what she needed or felt, or what he could do to help.

After that, the manager spoke to the other table and came back.

Shah said he told her he had asked the group if they wanted to sit somewhere else, and they declined, and that was all he could do.

"I think it was a completely inadequate response," she said.

She left her contact information and requested another manager call her as soon as possible.

Paralysis to respond

On Sunday afternoon, Shah said she received a call from the owner of the hotel and told her what happened.

Shah said the owner told her the hotel will consider whether a reprimand is warranted and whether further training or policy changes are required.

CBC's request for comment from the hotel's management has not yet been returned.

Shah said she thinks the entire affair should have been handled differently.

"What's really important to me is the paralysis of people to be able to respond," she said.

"I think everyone's in agreement that no one should be told to go back to their own country, but there's a lack of knowledge, awareness and action when these types of incidents arise. And that has me quite concerned."

Shah said she thinks it's essential for people to talk about racism and discrimination when they witness it, and feel empowered to do something about it.

She said it's important to take a stand against the behaviour and ask the victim how to make the environment feel safe.

If she were face-to-face with the woman in the restaurant again, Shah said, this time she'd say something else.

"I probably would say to her that I am a proud Canadian, born and raised, and that I love my country desperately, and that I am ashamed that a fellow Canadian does not honour who we are as Canadians by putting forth that kind of garbage."