In a reversal of a decision last year, the Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board has voted to fly the Pride flag at school board facilities during the month of June.
At the board meeting on Tuesday night (April 26), trustee Kevin MacKenzie brought forth a motion to fly the flag “to further the promotion of an environment of inclusion, diversity and equity in our community.”
“I want to set the same example to my children that Jesus did, and that’s to love all people,” MacKenzie said as he presented the motion.
“I want (students) to feel proud of their school board and their school,” MacKenzie said. “I want them to feel proud of themselves. I want them to be filled with pride because I can tell you that I am proud of every student in our board. Let them be proud and let’s raise the Pride flag.”
The motion passed with a majority vote of 3 to 2.
MacKenzie and trustee Loretta Durst supported the motion, and trustees David Bernier and Linda Ainsworth voted against it. With trustee Helen McCarthy absent from the meeting and with a trustee position vacant, board chair Braden Leal cast the tie-breaking vote in support of the motion.
“Time and time again, Pope Francis’ message is explicit — we must always consider the person,” Leal said. “The doors of our Catholic schools must be clearly open to all people. We have an opportunity to physically and symbolically demonstrate full inclusion, to welcome each and every member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community by flying the Pride flag during Pride Month.”
In a similar voting situation last June, an equal number of trustees voted for and against a motion to display secondary flagpoles to display flags during months of awareness.
The tie vote led to the former board chair casting a deciding vote, but this time against the motion.
In the aftermath of that decision, made during Pride Month, a parent launched an online petition protesting the decision, with the petition eventually garnering more than 23,000 signatures.
This story has been updated to correct errors and to provide details on the vote.
