Catholic school board adopts its own version of Pride flag
‘It’s not the Pride flag’ — mixed reception for gesture during Pride month
WATERLOO REGION — The flag the Waterloo Catholic District School Board will fly to mark Pride month is “insulting” and “disrespectful” to the LGBTQ+ community, says trustee Melanie Van Alphen.
On the flag is a drawing of a figure with outstretched arms, standing in front of a colourful crowd of people with the words, “We are all wonderfully made — we love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).”
The board heard Monday that the flag is in production and will be flown outside Catholic schools in the regi on for Pride month in June. Trustee Van Alphen criticized the decision and a lack of consultation with students, staff members and the LGBTQ+ community that went into choosing the flag.
“People will not recognize this to represent
Pride because it’s not the Pride flag,” she told the board.
Director of Education Loretta Notten
said the messaging and the flag
were decided upon by members of the Catholic Education community during consultations.
“I am trying to choose my words carefully, but this was not, to some degree, not a board-level decision, but one done in consultation with the larger Catholic education community,” Notten explained.
She said a number of images were provided to the school board via the Institute for Catholic Education.
“We selected the image which reflected the individuals in colour ... as opposed to just in a black and white silhouette,” she said, adding there was also a multicoloured fingerprint image available.
“Those were the images that were possible for Catholic boards to choose, if they chose to fly the flag this June.”
Notten said special permission to fly a second flag at schools where there is only one flagpole was also granted by the federal government.
In the report about the flag presented to the board on Monday, it said students have previously expressed a desire to see schools fly “some outward symbol that reflects our lived reality of inclusion,” but Van Alphen took issue with that, saying that was not how she understood the student requests.
She said two petitions were circulated by students last year — one at St. David Catholic Secondary School in Waterloo and one at Resurrection Catholic Secondary School in Kitchener — requesting that the rainbow Pride flag be flown at the front of the schools during Pride month. She also pointed out that the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board has raised the Pride flag.
“I personally find it disappointing that more Catholic boards don’t fly the Pride flag during the month of June especially,” she said.
Some board members agreed with Van Alphen, stating while the image that was put forward represented inclusiveness, it was not an appropriate symbol to mark Pride month.
“I don’t think it’s going to represent or meet the needs of the Pride community in June,” said Tracey Weiler. “I would probably be prepared for some negative feedback from that community on where we landed.”
Van Alphen brought forward a motion to postpone the raising of the flag until consultation could be had with staff members, students, parents the catholic community, the LGBTQ+ community, and trustees about Pride month and raising the rainbow flag. Her motion was not seconded and died.
Cait Glasson, president of the Waterloo region LGBTQ+ organization, SPECTRUM, said Tuesday she was willing to accept the gesture being made by the Catholic board.
“With the history that we have with the Catholic Church, that’s a step,” she said. “I’m personally perfectly willing to take the gesture for what it’s meant to be, which is meant to be at least a gesture toward our community and making us feel more welcome.”
Some of the trustees voiced their support for the flag decision at Monday’s meeting, including Kevin Dupuis who said it is a “wonderful representation of bringing all of our people together so that everyone does feel comfortable.”
Trustee Greg Reitzel was also supportive of the flag decision.
“I think this shows that we care about everybody, everybody is made in the image of God, we are to love everybody,” he said.
He also said he would have to resign if the Pride flag was flown at schools, telling the board that his belief is that “Pride is the deadliest of the deadly sins.”
MPP for Kitchener Centre Laura Mae Lindo took to social media Tuesday to say Reitzel’s comments were not inclusive and were in fact hateful.
“No inclusive flag that’s being chosen to fly now can change that,” she said.