Councillor questions ‘delayed response’ to Pride flag vandalism

Luke Edwards, Post Contributor

A perceived delay in responding to two incidents of vandalism against the Pride flag at Emily Stowe Public School was the result of scheduling conflicts and a desire to send out a carefully crafted response, Norwich Township’s mayor and CAO say.

Norwich Township sent out a press release on May 27 regarding the incidents, which took place on May 16 and May 24, respectively. At the June 3 council meeting, Coun. Shawn Gear questioned why it took so long.

“We need to be proactive and we need to address these situations immediately. We need to let the community members know that we’re here to support them,” Gear said.

CAO Matt Smith told councillors it was a combination of factors that led to the release coming out later than some would have hoped. For starters, he said staff didn’t learn about the vandalism until the OPP sent out a press release. At the time, both he and Mayor Jim Palmer weren’t at town hall. He said they exchanged emails regarding the situation.

Additionally, Smith said they wanted to be thoughtful in their response.

“I think part of the delay was being unsure about what we as a council would want to say,” he said.

“We wanted to be sure that everybody was comfortable with what the township was saying because I know this has been an issue that this township has experienced issues with in the past and I think it’s really important that we say the right thing rather than the first thing.”

Coun. Lynne DePlancke first raised the issue by speaking to a letter included in the correspondence section of the agenda.

Dated May 26 from Mary-Kathryn Barbier, the letter expressed hope Norwich would publicly condemn the acts of vandalism.

“Such acts are not only symbolic attacks on the 2SLGBTQ+ community. They are also stark reminders of the work still needed to ensure safety, inclusion, and dignity for all members of our community,” the letter read.

The township’s release was issued the following day.

“I want to support this and I want people in the community to realize that we have accepted the Safe and Well Communities document that was put out by Oxford County,” DePlancke said.

The Safe and Well Communities plan includes several priorities. Among them, under the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion section is an objective to work “collaboratively with police services to develop and implement strategies that decrease crimes targeting racialized, diverse or vulnerable populations, such as LGBTQ2+.”