Regina trustee urges kindness after vote against Pride support
REGINA Amid emotional reactions following the Regina Public Schools board’s vote against a motion to formally “recognize and support” Pride in schools, trustees are calling on Regina residents to be thoughtful in their comments.
On Thursday, Katherine Gagne took to Facebook to say she had been called a host of names after the board’s 4-3 vote against the motion. The names included “evil, stupid, liar, disgrace, disgusting, loser, homophobe, (and) bigot.” The post continued with her saying, “Although I am okay, this is never okay. It is NEVER okay to call people names.”
In a recent phone interview, Gagne said she made the post with the hopes of challenging people to be kind to one another.
“We need to find places of understanding and truly listen to each other. That’s how we grow as a society,” she said.
“That’s the way we make our community safe, is through understanding. We’re never going to agree on everything, but the more we understand each other, the more we move forward.”
Trustee Aleana Young brought forward the motion, which called for the school division to “recognize and support” Pride week and fly the Pride flag for a week every June. Trustees who voted against the motion on Tuesday said they were not against Pride celebrations, but believed more discussion and consultation was needed.
Although Young had been disappointed by the result of the vote, she also took to social media to remind people to think about their comments. In a tweet Thursday she said that “hate speech and threats are not ok from anyone.” She also noted she had received a few unsavoury messages.
Young could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Amid the negative comments, Gagne said she did receive one positive email that has stuck with her. In it, Gagne said a Regina resident told her “the time now is for us not to debate, but to relate.” Gagne agrees, and said that ultimately all residents want the same thing — for all staff and students to feel safe and included in their school.
“I want a transgender student to come to school and feel safe without any question,” she said. “We had four trustees say this motion in its current form was not going to ensure that.”
Gagne believes working to understand is the best place to start, saying “immediately” after the board’s vote she called UR Pride executive director Jacq Brasseur.
“I truly believe that we’re all pushing toward the same end goal ... the safety, the security, the inclusion, the acceptance, the value, the respect of all of our staff and all of our students,” she said. “It’s a danger when we sit in a place of ‘you’re wrong and I’m right.’ That doesn’t get us anywhere.”
It’s a danger when we sit in a place of ‘you’re wrong and I’m right.’ That doesn’t get us anywhere.