Waterloo Region's Catholic board narrowly votes down motion that could have banned Pride flags

The Rainbow Pride flag — a symbol of inclusion and support for LGBTQIA+ students — will continue to fly at local Catholic schools after a controversial motion to restrict flag displays was narrowly defeated by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. vecteezy photo

By Amanda Modaragamage, Gazette Reporter

A controversial motion to ban flags — including the Rainbow Pride flag — at local Catholic schools was narrowly voted down by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) on April 28.

Locally, the proposed policy could have affected families and students at Holy Family Catholic Elementary School in New Hamburg.

The motion failed by a 5-4 vote.

Originally introduced in March by trustee Conrad Stanley, the motion would have limited flag displays to only the Canadian flag, the Ontario flag and the school board flag at all schools across the region.

The motion read, in part, “Teaching children that these two flags unite us and represent all of us together equally contributes to the important work of cultivating their patriotism and love for our shared nation, Canada.

“ … Ongoing complaints, protests and delegations from the public show that the practice of flying international, identity-based flags like the rainbow, pride and progress flags remains divisive and unpopular among many Waterloo Catholic parents, constituents and taxpayers.”

Despite explicitly referencing identity-based flags, Stanley said the motion was intended to depoliticize school environments, not to segregate students. But several members of the community — including those who attended the board meeting — disagreed.

One speaker, Christine Bendia, told trustees the proposed flag protocol update is “antithetical to a 21st-century, inclusive-learning environment.”

A board graduate and employee with 29 years of experience in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, Bendia spoke passionately about the potential impact of the ban.

“I am here before you today as a former student, a teacher, a GSA staff leader, an ally and as a woman who happens to be trans,” she told trustees.

She emphasized schools should be safe spaces for all students, including those in the LGBTQIA+ community, and that removing the Rainbow Pride flag would send a harmful message of exclusion.

“The Pride flag, and its successor, the Progress Pride flag, is one of the most well-known symbols of inclusivity in our society, and its removal, after being proudly flown across the schools within our board for years, sends a clear message of intolerance.

“I can definitively tell you some of our students do not feel welcomed and included in classrooms in this board, but a visible Pride flag in a classroom acts like a universal welcome mat.

“To be absolutely clear, a book does not make a student gay or trans. A Pride flag does not make a student gay or trans. A GSA club does not make a student gay or trans. And a teacher who happens to be a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community does not make a student gay or trans. But every one of these things can help those students within our schools who are gay or trans,” she concluded.

Neither the principal of Holy Family Catholic Elementary School in New Hamburg nor the communications department of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board provided a statement in time for publication.