Ottawa Catholic board to fly Pride flag over its schools

Trustee John Curry said the motion was a step toward offering equity and inclusion for all students and staff. “This action, in my view, has nothing to do with the teachings of the Catholic Church; rather, it has everything to do with my responsibility as a trustee of a publicly funded education system,” he said.

Trustee Glen Armstrong, who is running for nomination as the federal Conservative candidate in Nepean, was the only trustee to vote against the motion. He suggested the money needed to build the flag poles, $230,000, would be better spent on disadvantaged students.

The Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall urged Ottawa Catholic School Board trustees to reject the idea of raising the rainbow Pride flag over its schools.

Archbishop Marcel Damphousse told the school board Tuesday that he was opposed to a motion that sought to raise the Pride flag over the Catholic education centre this year, and over all schools in the years to come. He called the motion “well meaning but divisive,” and said he had heard many messages from concerned Catholics in recent days.

Damphousse said Catholic schools already boast two more inclusive symbols: the cross and the Canadian flag.

“These two symbols include us all,” he argued. “The gay Pride flag, on the contrary, endorses one political agenda over others. It divides, it does not unite.”

The board heard from about two dozen delegates Tuesday evening.

Michele Pierce, president of Ottawa Catholic Teachers, called on trustees to “do the right thing” and pass the motion, which she called an “important step on the board’s equity journey.” She said the teachers’ association “wholeheartedly supports the motion to fly the rainbow Pride.”

Heather Sutherland, a woman who described herself as a committed Christian, a bisexual and the married mother of a transgender student, said the Catholic church has a long way to go to make up for the harm it has caused through its exclusion of people from the LGBTQ2 community.

Franklin Garry, a Catholic ratepayer and father of four, spoke in opposition to the motion, arguing that the board would be asked to recognize a wide array of special interest groups with flags if it raised the Pride flag.

“How many groups are we also going to show unconditional love to by flying their flags?” he asked. “If it’s just to show love and care, there’s no need to use this flag flying as a means to show love.”

Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden told the Catholic board that he was troubled that it was even possible to have a debate about whether to raise a Pride flag at a public institution.

Trustee Jeremy Wittet, who moved the motion with Trustee Spencer Warren, said the Ottawa Catholic School Board must do more to make schools safer and more equitable. “While some see the Pride flag as a divisive and overtly political statement in our society, many see this as a welcoming and embracing beacon of hope in an often intolerant and unjust world,” he argued.

Catholic school boards across the province have debated similar motions in recent weeks in advance of Pride month, which takes place in June.

Catholic boards in Toronto and Waterloo voted to fly the Pride flag. The Halton District Catholic School Board voted down a similar motion.

Ottawa Citizen