Online petition against Catholic school board’s Pride flag decision keeps growing

Nearly 5,000 people have now signed an online petition against the decision made by the Peterborough-Victoria-Northumberland-Clarington Catholic District School Board to disallow the flying of Pride flags in front of their schools.

Voting by a narrow 4-3 margin, trustees balked at the idea of supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community in this way. Current church dogma states that members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community must be treated with dignity and respect, but that sexual relations between people of the same sex remain as sin.

The Kawartha Lakes area trustee Michelle Griepsma was also a dissenting vote for flying the Pride flag at schools.

The decision has created a firestorm, putting the four trustees at odds with many students, some parents and all of the board’s employee groups who wanted to see the flags fly for the month of June.

Trustees Emmanuel Pinto, Linda Ainsworth, Michelle Griepsma and board chair David Bernier voted in a bloc to defeat flying the Pride flag and the installation of a second “social justice” flag pole in front of board facilities to fly not only the Pride flag, but those recognizing autism, bullying or sensitivity towards Indigenous issues.

With their votes, the four trustees also prevented the board from updating its protocols on display of flags on board property which, if passed, may have formalized a process for approving the display of “special purpose” flags by the PVNCDCSB.

Bernier said they received “a great deal of feedback on the proposed motion from members of our community, more so than any other issue during my 15 years as a trustee for PVNCC.”

“We know that some within our community may not understand or may be disappointed with the outcome of our deliberation. Trustees voted with their conscience on this matter…”

“As a Catholic school trustee,” Bernier said, “I am entrusted with serving and protecting Catholic Education in Ontario, ensuring that our faith stands out, that all we do is in line with that faith.”

The chair also told the meeting that the board had received over 200 pieces of mail sent by teachers, students, parents, grandparent and religious officials.

The two largest employee groups working for PVNCDCSB took to social media to express their concerns about the board’s decision.

CUPE Local 1453 said, “Very disappointing night at the PVNC board meeting. They voted down a policy that would provide a flag pole for flags to be raised including Pride, autism and Indigenous flags.”

OECTA, which represents all of the teachers currently employed by the board, was equally as upset by the vote sharing.

“It is with a sad heart that in a tied vote regarding raising the Pride flag, Chair David Bernier voted against the motion making it a 4-3 decision. The (two) student trustees spoke emphatically for the student voice to raise the flag, but went unheeded.”

Before the final vote was taken, the board heard four emotionally charged deputations from parents and grandparents of current or past PVNCDCSB students, three speaking against the motion to display the flag and one asking the board to support the motion.

Bryn McDonnell, Sean Thompson and Nick Joseph reminded the board of church teachings and the possibility that decisions like flying the Pride flag will take away from the distinct character of the board.

McDonnell suggested as an alternative that the board fly the sacred heart flag that symbolizes to Catholics God’s love for all people.

Thompson said flying the Pride flag “stands against the teachings of the church,” and that decisions must be made that “defer to church authority, not trustees’ personal opinions.”

Joseph fears a decision to fly the Pride flag would “impact the board’s distinct specificity and to lose that would be a tragedy.”

The lone deputation supporting flying the Pride flag belonged to retired teacher Wayne Cornack who argued that young people need “a very visible demonstration of acceptance that shows students that they are loved and included.”

Catholic school boards across Ontario have been struggling with the issue. Toronto, Durham, Niagara, Waterloo and Wellington Catholic District School Boards have all voted in favour of flying the Pride flag, citing a softening in church teachings on the 2SLGBTQ+ community since the elevation of Pope Francis in 2013.

Peterborough now joins a tiny but significant sliver of Catholic boards that refuse to fly the Pride flag including Windsor-Essex, Hamilton and Halton Catholic District School Boards.

Bernier said the board is “committed to nurturing safe and inclusive learning environments in each of our schools.”